Creating a fairer Scotland: Aspiring Communities Fund launched

Community and third sector projects that try new ways to tackle poverty and improve people’s lives can now apply for a share of £29 million ‎funding, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced. Continue reading Creating a fairer Scotland: Aspiring Communities Fund launched

New Child Poverty Map reveals urgent need for action

Continue reading New Child Poverty Map reveals urgent need for action

GP Practice payments for deprived areas not enough, say Greens

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The difference in payments per head to GP practices in the most and least deprived areas does not do enough to tackle health inequalities says a Green MSP.

Alison Johnstone, health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, believes the difference of £3.97 per person should be considerably more, considering that practices in areas listed as Scotland’s most deprived by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation see significantly more patients than in less deprived areas.

A report by ISD Scotland reveals that the overall payment to General Practice service providers of £753.9 million is “virtually the same amount” as last year.

Alison Johnstone, health spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Lothian, said: “GP practices in the most deprived areas typically have more patients on their lists and less capacity to address patient needs.  Greens want to see increases in spending for general practice, and primary care more broadly, to be targeted towards practices with high levels of deprivation.

“Greater and more targeted spending for general practice can play a key part in an overall preventative spending strategy. By preventing ill-health, we can ease the pressure on our NHS and ensure that fewer patients end up needing more expensive treatment.” Continue reading GP Practice payments for deprived areas not enough, say Greens

Fifty actions for a fairer Scotland

£29 million programme for innovative poverty measures part of Fairer Scotland Action Plan

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Fifty ‘bold and ambitious’ actions to achieve a fairer Scotland for everyone have been outlined in a landmark plan published yesterday by Communities Secretary Angela Constance. Continue reading Fifty actions for a fairer Scotland

Who Cares? STV Children’s Appeal viewers do!

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STV’s fantastic line-up of programmes to highlight the work carried out by the STV Children’s Appeal and local fundraisers across the country to raise money and awareness about children and young people living in poverty in Scotland continues tonight with Who Cares?  at 8pm. Continue reading Who Cares? STV Children’s Appeal viewers do!

Rowntree Foundation launches five point plan to end poverty

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A new ‘long term deal’ to solve poverty – between governments, business and the public – is needed to solve poverty in a generation, so the first cohort of ‘Brexit children’ starting school this Autumn grow up and enter adult life in a UK that is prosperous and poverty-free. Continue reading Rowntree Foundation launches five point plan to end poverty

The cost of going back to school

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Getting a child ready to return to school can be an expensive business. The cost of uniform, coat, shoes, bags and PE kit soon adds up. Despite this, the amount of financial help offered to low income families varies massively, with some local authorities offering as little as £20 per child for the whole year.

CPAG in Scotland want to make sure all local authorities pay an adequate minimum school clothing grant and that the Scottish Government is doing all it can to help families cover the costs of school clothing.

This year, the Scottish Government has a new power to set a minimum school clothing grant for the whole of Scotland – and we want them to use it.

Take 5 minutes to message your MSP and tell them what it really costs to clothe a child for school and explaining why you think every child in Scotland has the right to start term warm, comfortable and ready to learn. 

To get started, enter your postcode and click “Participate”.

UK government data provided by GovEval.

School Costs is a new short film jointly sponsored by the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) and CPAG in Scotland. Directed by Iain Henderson, winner of the BAFTA Scotland New Talent Award 2015, the film highlights the struggle of families on low incomes to meet the costs associated with their children attending school.

The testimony of the parents involved is drawn directly from qualitative research conducted as part of our Early Warning System.

Watch the film here