Aberlour response to Scottish Government's Tackling Child Poverty Plan

More than 1 in 5 children in Scotland continue to grow up in poverty.

Overwhelmingly the people of Scotland want to see the Scottish Government increase support for the poorest families.

We have made limited progress to reduce child poverty in this Parliament, but nowhere close enough to meet our legally binding child poverty targets by 2030.

The Scottish Government’s new child poverty plan, ‘Bringing Hope, Building Futures’, published this week, says some of the right things, and keeps child poverty at the top of the political agenda.

It takes some humility to recognise we are not where we should be at this point in the parliamentary cycle.

It is welcome to see investment in both immediate poverty relief and measures to support families to move forward in their lives, in particular through better access to fair work through whole family support.

We also welcome the clear commitment to tackle the public debt crisis that traps too many children and families across Scotland in poverty.

If lifting every child in Scotland out of poverty for good is our goal (as the Plan states), much more is needed to accelerate these efforts.

If we say we are going to ‘eradicate child poverty’, we need a plan which is up to that task.

The Scottish Child Payment is providing real and practical help through putting additional cash in families’ pockets.

We know this is making a difference.

However, we need to invest significantly more in this cash-first approach as cost of living pressures continue to bite, including increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £55.

And if we mean what we say about eradicating (not just reducing) Scotland’s shameful rates of child poverty, we need a much tighter and more focused set of equally ambitious.

That must mean high impact and practical measures alongside the Scottish Child Payment - as recommended by Scotland’s Poverty and Inequality Commission.

The next Parliament must be the parliament where we prioritise ending child poverty above all else.

We cannot fail Scotland’s children once again.

Justina Murray, CEO