Independent analysis due to be published alongside the Scottish Government’s first Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan shows the extent of damage caused by UK Government welfare cuts. The analysis outlines projections of child poverty rates in Scotland on the basis of announced tax and benefit changes, and the consequent increases in poverty levels. Continue reading Families in crisis: the worst is still to come, says Angela Constance
“Tackling inequalities will never be an optional extra for this government – it is core to everything we do, as we strive to make Scotland fairer and more equal.” – Communities Secretary Angela Constance Continue reading Constance reaffirms commitment to tackling child poverty
Scotland is set to become the only part of the UK with statutory targets to tackle child poverty after the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill was unanimously passed by the Scottish Parliament today. Continue reading Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill passes final stage
A Bill to tackle child poverty has been unanimously approved at its first stage by the Scottish Parliament. Continue reading Child Poverty Bill crosses first hurdle
Proposed targets for addressing child poverty in Scotland are to be scrutinised by Scottish Parliament’s Social Security Committee as it begins its examination of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill. Continue reading Child poverty targets under scrutiny at Holyrood
The UK Government’s austerity agenda, continuing welfare cuts, and economic uncertainty caused by Brexit are the key challenges to eradicating child poverty, Equalities Secretary Angela Constance has said. Ms Constance, who will introduce a child poverty bill to Holyrood this week, said the action being taken to tackle inequalities and end child poverty in Scotland has never been more important.
Findings in a report published by the Resolution Foundation last week show that over the remainder of the UK Parliamentary term typical households will see almost no income growth and poorer households will experience a fall in income.
Ms Constance said: “No child should grow up in poverty. All of our children deserve the best opportunities in life that we can offer them, which is why tackling the issue is a key priority for this government.
“Our Child Poverty Bill to be published this week will be a crucial step forward – it will set statutory targets to reduce child poverty and establish a framework for measuring, monitoring and reporting on child poverty. It will also require long-term delivery plans to tackle the deep-rooted causes, and for Ministers to report annually on progress. Scotland will also now be the only part of the UK with statutory income targets on child poverty.
“UK Government budget cuts, austerity measures, and welfare cuts, and scrapping of income-based child poverty targets are leading to huge social harm, and the poorest and most vulnerable in society shouldering the brunt.
“Withdrawal from the EU and the single market also poses a threat to living standards, job prospects, and income levels of people and communities across Scotland.
“It is completely unacceptable that families are facing such hardship and children are growing up in poverty. I am clear that preventing the next generation of young people being born into poverty is vital and we will work tirelessly across government and with the public, private and voluntary sectors to address this.
“That is why our Fairer Scotland Action Plan includes several cross-Government measures to tackle child poverty – and we will use all options the new social security powers give us to make a difference.
“We are spending £100 million a year mitigating the worst of UK Government cuts, funding we should be able to use to lift people out of poverty.
“So it is absolutely clear that we are taking a range of actions to ensure that children in Scotland have a bright future ahead of them; but we do that in the face of a callous and uncaring UK government which has never put the needs of the people of Scotland on their to do list.”
An alliance of leading independent and third sector service providers has warned that Scotland faces a ‘lost generation’ of children and young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN) if cuts in public services continue, making it extremely challenging for the Scottish Government to close the educational attainment gap. Continue reading A lost generation
The Scottish Government’s vision for ending child poverty in Scotland took a step forward yesterday with the launch of The Child Poverty Bill consultation. The Bill, to be introduced next year, will build on the Scottish Government’s existing work and will form part of the overall approach to tackling poverty and inequality. Continue reading A step on the road to ending child poverty in Scotland
Scotland is set to bring forward legislation to tackle the deep-rooted causes of child poverty for the first time in its history, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced today. Continue reading Legislation to eradicate child poverty is on the way
New definition hides true extent of child poverty
Around 120,000 children will be ‘cast adrift’ if the UK Government changes its definition of child poverty, Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil has said.
In a letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mr Neil urged the UK Government to focus on tackling the root causes of child poverty instead of redefining the way it is measured.
Proposals set out in the Welfare Reform and Work Bill would mean the UK Government would no longer be required to take action to reduce the number of people living on low incomes. Instead, the focus would move to ‘worklessness’ and ‘educational attainment’, ignoring the increasing problem of in-work poverty which affects 120,000 children in Scotland.
UK Government figures, released in June, showed an increase in the number of children living in poverty to 3.71 million after housing costs were taken into account. Of this total 65 per cent of the children were from families where at least one parent was working. This highlights the fact that progress in reducing child poverty, and improving the chances for all children, will be difficult without improvements to the living standards of working families. However these figures will not be taken into account if the Bill is passed.
Mr Neil said: “By changing the definition of child poverty the UK Government is hiding the true extent of the problem and casting adrift the 120,000 Scottish children whose parents are working on low incomes and struggling to pay their bills.
“The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions must rethink these flawed plans. They will only gloss over the impact of the UK Government’s austerity agenda and fail to show the shocking reality of its inexcusable attack on low-paid families.
“The Scottish Government will continue to measure and report on the wide range of factors that drive child poverty including income, educational attainment and health outcomes. Our sophisticated measurement framework was developed with experts and leading children’s organisations and is helping us to understand the full scale of the problem and find the most effective ways to address it.
“Around 210,000 children are living in relative poverty after housing costs are paid, but these numbers are likely to soar in coming years because of cuts to social security. Reforms to tax credits alone will reduce the incomes of between 200,000 and 250,000 households in Scotland, with families facing almost £700 million of cuts.
“We recognise that any serious attempt to tackle inequality has to focus on in-work poverty, which remains very high. That’s why we are calling for powers over the minimum wage, employment policy and working-age benefits to be devolved to Scotland.
“We have invested £296 million in welfare measures and around £329 million over two years to expand free early learning and childcare, including extra provision for disadvantaged children, while our work to encourage employers to pay the Living Wage is also helping to increase income levels in Scotland. We have appointed our first Independent Adviser on Poverty and Inequality who will be looking at what more we can do to address inequalities.”
