[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f10b3rz2z388kj":3,"$f1a7jhucwi6m0f":17},{"id":4,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":8,"slug":9,"content":10,"content_overview":11,"published_at":12,"seo_title":8,"seo_description":13,"image":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16},"01m5fanaffkxrzkrpj1x4keag4","9cdbdd6d-4900-4646-a012-d3e67a5ee788","01j303dmcc6n6900v73fs88bc7",false,"Right to Food Commission supports Aberlour's Call to End School Meal Debt","right-to-food-commission-supports-aberlours-call","\u003Cp>School meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three words that should never be uttered in the same sentence\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Children bearing the burden and stigma of debt should shame any society.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And yet, here in Scotland that is what we saw happening for thousands of children and their families around the country.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For many high school children having a negative balance on their parent pay account would mean being unable to access a meal at school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>School meal debt and hidden school hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two sides of the same coin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what side that coin lands on it would still show how badly we have failed many of Scotland’s most disadvantaged children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is why at Aberlour we were compelled to do something about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To make sure we stood beside those children and their families and to call for something to change – urgently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We wanted to make sure we saw an \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fabout-us\u002Fpolicy-and-influencing\u002Fpublic-debt\u002Fschool-meal-debt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">end to school meal debt and hidden school hunger for good\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 2023 we urged the then First Minister, Humza Yusaf, to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To bring an end to the shameful practice of children and their families being chased by debt collectors for school meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>School meal debt is a symptom of families not having enough money to provide the very basics for their children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fundamentally, it is about a lack of income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We welcomed the introduction of a one-off School Meal Debt Fund to write off outstanding debt for one year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But we were clear that was not enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our evidence shows that the majority of children with school meal debt are from low-income working families who do not qualify for free school meals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, along with writing off the debt for struggling families, we called for the expansion of Free School Meals to all low-income families across Scotland to help prevent school meal debt in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Again, we welcomed John Swinney’s subsequent commitment to continuing the School Meal Debt Fund for a further year to write off nearly £3 million of school meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Figures show that this benefitted 70,000 children and their families across Scotland over the last two years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A welcome relief for many, but still a limited intervention without a long-term solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our campaign to end school meal debt has continued up to and during the recent Scottish Parliament elections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Last year we also published evidence that pointed to the extent of school meal debt for children and their families in England.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What our research suggested was that around 1 in 4 children not eligible for free school meals in England had regular or persistent school meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And so we called on the UK Government to act and follow Scotland’s lead by taking action to end school meal debt for children across the rest of the UK.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This week saw the launch of the independent UK Right to Food Commission report and findings following their work to evidence the scale of food insecurity across the UK.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Commission’s report provides a roadmap and clear actions all governments across the UK must take to end food insecurity for all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This includes ending school meal debt for good for all children the length of the country, from Aberdeen to Aberystwyth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Scotland, the SNP made a commitment during the Scottish Parliamentary election campaign to end school meal debt once and for all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That manifesto pledge was then followed by the First Minister announcing that families struggling with school meal debt would continue to be helped by committing the same level of investment again this year to write that debt off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time this will happen alongside the further expansion of Free School Meals in primary schools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The urgent measure and a preventative solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is much more the First Minister must do to make real progress on his ambition to “eradicate child poverty”.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this is one example that the rest of the UK can follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Making sure no child ever again is burdened with debt or goes hungry at school would be a quick win for Andy Burnham, to show his commitment to tackling food insecurity by ending school meal debt in every postcode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Martin Canavan\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Head of Policy & Influencing \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>",null,"2026-10-21T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity's Head of Policy & Influencing, Martin Canavan, shares what must be done to end school meal debt and hidden hunger in schools for good. He shares what has been done in Scotland and what must be done in England.","media\u002Fshared image.jpg","2026-10-21T13:33:25.000000Z","2026-10-22T08:11:54.000000Z",{"id":18,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":19,"is_featured":7,"title":20,"slug":21,"content":22,"content_overview":11,"published_at":23,"seo_title":24,"seo_description":25,"image":26,"created_at":27,"updated_at":28,"next":29,"prev":40},"01jbexctmbgygjht7xak42055g","2","Aberlour's response to the UK Budget ","aberlours-response-to-the-uk-budget-2024","\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">Today’s [Wednesday 30th October 2024] UK Budget includes a number of measures that will provide some relief to struggling families in Scotland. But so much more is needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">We applaud the Chancellor’s action to tackle the debt crisis faced by low-income families by reducing the maximum amount that can be taken through Universal Credit deductions, from 25% to 15%.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">This will in effect keep more money in families’ pockets for essentials and the things their children need. A good start, but we need much wider reform of public sector debt recovery to prevent families from being pushed, often deeper, into poverty as a result of public debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">Increased funding available to the Scottish Government, along with the continuation of the Household Support Fund, will mean more money to help and support low-income families in Scotland and must accelerate efforts to tackle child poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">However, we know the single biggest action to reduce child poverty right now is to end the heinous two child limit. Today the Chancellor failed to make that commitment to immediately lift 300,000 children out of poverty, despite a clear and collective call from anti-poverty organisations, children’s charities and campaigners, as well as children and young people themselves, to do so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">We continue to call on the Prime Minister and Chancellor to take urgent action to end child poverty. That must mean reform of Universal Credit by ending the two child limit and the five week wait and making sure that benefit entitlements provide an adequate income that lifts families out of poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>SallyAnn Kelly OBE\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Aberlour Chief Executive\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>","2024-10-30T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour's response to the UK Budget 2024","Aberlour Children's Charity responds to the UK Budget announcement made on Wednesday 30th October 2024","media\u002FSallyAnn-Final-scaled-serious.jpg","2024-10-30T14:31:09.000000Z","2024-10-30T15:31:01.000000Z",{"id":30,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":31,"is_featured":7,"title":32,"slug":33,"content":34,"content_overview":11,"published_at":35,"seo_title":32,"seo_description":36,"image":37,"created_at":38,"updated_at":39},"01jc3h3qxjx3ckn3ew5rhtfm2e","1","Children’s charity will salute Speyside roots on special anniversary","childrens-charity-will-salute-speyside-roots-on-special-anniversary","\u003Cp>Scotland’s biggest children’s charity will return to its Speyside roots to mark a special anniversary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour, named after the town where its work began, will soon have spent 150 years caring for Scotland’s most disadvantaged children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The charity has supported thousands of young Scots and their families since the Reverend Charles Jupp opened an orphanage in the Moray town in 1875.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To mark the anniversary next year, Aberlour will hail his far-sighted vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the next century and a half, his determination to protect and improve the lives of children would lead to the creation of one of Scotland’s most respected charities delivering care and support for thousands of young Scots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>SallyAnn Kelly, Aberlour’s chief executive, believes next year’s anniversary is an opportunity to salute the charity’s founders, the children it has cared for and the town where it all began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>She said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>We might do things differently today than 150 years ago but our mission and determination to protect and care for children in need is unchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Next year will be a significant milestone for our charity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We have come a long way in 150 years and hope to go further but the anniversary must be an opportunity to look back as well as forward. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How our journey began in Aberlour led us to where we are today and will guide us into tomorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Next year is an opportunity to recognise the enduring influence of Aberlour in our charity’s past, present and future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>The charity is also, however, determined to acknowledge a darker chapter in its history during the anniversary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 2020, the third phase of the Scottish Child Abuse inquiry concluded children cared for at the orphanage and other homes run by Aberlour, and other charities, had suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse between 1921 and 1991.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The charity offered an unreserved apology to victims at the time but its chief executive SallyAnn Kelly promised they will be acknowledged and remembered in its anniversary year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>She said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Our charity has much to be proud of and while our anniversary will celebrate that, it must also properly recognise the children we failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It would be dishonest not to and only a clear-eyed understanding of our past will ensure we build a safe and secure future for our charity and the children we care for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Children who spent time at the orphanage and our other homes and staff who worked there will have many memories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Most, we hope, will be happy and inspiring, others may be sadder and more troubling, but this anniversary is an opportunity to remember all of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Generations of children were raised in the Aberlour orphanage in the first half of the last century before it was understood that residential care is better delivered in smaller houses as the charity began to build a new network of “family homes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The charity is already in discussion with staff and children who spent time at the orphanage while being advised by local historians on how best to mark its origins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is urging anyone who grew up in the orphanage or worked there to share their memories to help mark the special anniversary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Discussions are also underway about possible events to mark the anniversary in the town, including an exhibition of photographs charting the charity’s story and a heritage tour visiting significant landmarks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jupp’s work, supported by heiress and philanthropist Margaret Macpherson Grant, began with just four boys being cared for in a cottage by the Lour Burn before the orphanage opened seven years later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The orphanage, extensively rebuilt after two serious fires in the 1930s, closed in 1967 with Speyside High School being built on the site.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>Did you live or work at the orphanage?  If you would like to share your memories, please email sarah.mcnaught@aberlour.org.uk \u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>","2024-11-07T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity will return to its Speyside roots to mark its special 150th anniversary next year.","media\u002FAberlour-Orphanage-1875.jpg","2024-11-07T14:40:32.000000Z","2024-11-14T14:17:08.000000Z",{"id":41,"blog_author_id":42,"blog_category_id":43,"is_featured":7,"title":44,"slug":45,"content":46,"content_overview":11,"published_at":47,"seo_title":44,"seo_description":48,"image":49,"created_at":50,"updated_at":51},"01jb9eaed6250yayvrvbxmnhkw","9c8b0191-fcca-48df-af06-d7308bbd8d7b","01j303bq3gts1f1rws42kqh950","Child Poverty and housing emergency ‘inextricably linked’ leading charities claim","child-poverty-and-housing-emergency-inextricably-linked-leading-charities-claim","\u003Cp>Scotland’s housing emergency and child poverty are inextricably linked according to a \u003Ca title=\"Child Poverty and the Housing Emergency Report\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fpublications\u002Fchild-poverty-and-the-housing-emergency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">new briefing\u003C\u002Fa> by two leading charities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Produced jointly by \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fscotland.shelter.org.uk\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shelter Scotland\u003C\u002Fa> and Aberlour Children's Charity, the report examines the evidence linking child poverty and the housing emergency, and highlights delivering social homes as a key intervention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First Minister John Swinney has said eradicating child poverty is at the heart of his governments mission, however this report warns that cannot be achieved without adequately addressing the housing emergency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>High housing costs are driving 50,000 children in Scotland into poverty, while the latest homelessness figures show that more than 10,000 children are currently trapped in temporary accommodation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said:\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>There’s an undeniable link between child poverty and Scotland’s housing emergency; this briefing sets that out in clear terms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It should be a source of great national shame that tens of thousands of children are being driven into poverty by soaring housing costs, and that more than 10,000 children in Scotland are living in temporary accommodation, trapped in the homelessness system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Scottish Child Payment is a positive and welcome intervention, but the evidence shows it’s just not enough; the First Minister simply can’t achieve his aim of eradicating child poverty if he doesn’t first end the housing emergency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Aberlour Chief Executive, SallyAnn Kelly OBE, said:\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Children have a right to grow up free from poverty. Government has a duty to realise that right and this includes providing safe and secure housing for children and their families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Unsafe, cramped and temporary housing undermines the lives and life chances of far too many of our children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Poverty damages the lives of children today and sabotages their futures tomorrow. The First Minister has said ending child poverty is his number one priority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But that commitment must be matched by clear actions and investment, ensuring the best interests of all our children drive policy not financial imperatives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It is clear that ending child poverty can only happen by tackling the housing emergency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fpublications\u002Fchild-poverty-and-the-housing-emergency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read the report 'Child Poverty and the Housing Emergency.'\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>","2024-10-28T00:00:00.000000Z","Today (Monday 28th October 2024), Shelter Scotland and Aberlour's Children's Charity jointly issue report examining the evidence linking child poverty and the housing emergency,","media\u002F01JB9EAED34K4AET2WZ4C5JGC6.jpg","2024-10-28T11:31:30.000000Z","2024-10-28T11:35:21.000000Z"]