Analysis: How did each Scottish Political Party respond to our key calls to influence their manifestos?
This week’s Scottish elections [Thursday 7th May 2026] will see a new, and likely, very different Scottish Parliament. The fortunes of the familiar five Parliamentary parties – SNP, Conservatives, Labour, Greens and Liberal Democrats – may vary, but they will now be joined by Reform UK. The emergence of Reform as a significant political force may even result in them becoming the official Opposition.
Changes in party size and make up will be one feature of this Scottish Parliament, but it will also see an influx of scores of new MSPs elected across all parties. Our parliament may look much changed, but the challenges and issues faced by Scotland’s communities, households and families won’t have changed. They will be looking to our new MSPs and whoever forms the next Scottish Government to come good on their promises of change.
At Aberlour we have been clear about what political parties need to commit to in order to improve the lives of Scotland’s most disadvantaged and marginalised children, young people and families. Ahead of this election we shared our calls on each of the parties to help tackle child poverty and better support families. We outlined our children and families’ priorities and what they expect from their elected representatives.
So how did each party do in responding to these calls? Here we have highlighted what each party’s manifesto has said in response to Aberlour’s priorities for the next Scottish Parliament.
Ending child poverty
The next Scottish Parliament must be the parliament where we prioritise ending child poverty above all else.
We called for…an immediate increase to the Scottish Child Payment to at least £40 per week, rising to £55 by the end of the next parliament; and improvements to Scotland’s social security system strengthening support where needed, and removing barriers that leave some families behind.
The SNP say they will increase the Scottish Child Payment £40 per week for all babies under one; deliver multi-year funding to underpin practical help including protecting the Scottish Welfare Fund.
Scottish Conservatives say they will support the aims of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 to meet child poverty targets.
Scottish Labour say they will maintain the Scottish Child Payment and increase it to £40 a week for children under one; standardise delivery of the Scottish Welfare Fund and targeted towards preventing homelessness; improve integration of local money advice services.
Scottish Greens say they will increase the Scottish Child Payment to £40, with the aim of further increasing it to at least £55 by 2030 and offer supplements to the poorest families; increase devolved social security values annually, at least in-line with rising costs; amend the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act to require the Scottish Government to meet targets for the reduction of the deepest forms of poverty.
Scottish Liberal Democrats say they will end deep poverty and ensure Universal Credit covers life’s essentials; end the young parent penalty for under-25s by restoring the full rate of Universal Credit for all parents regardless of age; remove the benefit cap. (Each of these commitments relate to reserved UK social security policy and neither the Scottish Parliament nor Scottish Government have any powers to implement these policies).
Reform UK’s manifesto does not mention child poverty or poverty at all.
Our view…It is good to see clear cross-party support for increasing the Scottish Child Payment and improving the social security system for those families most in need. However, with the exception of the Greens, these commitments fall well short of the very minimum needed to maximise social security as a key mechanism for meeting Scotland’s child poverty targets by the end of the next Scottish Parliament.
Tackling the public debt crisis
Public debt is felt most sharply by families on the lowest incomes and too often traps children and their families in poverty.
We called for…legislative, policy and practice changes to the way Scotland recovers public debt aligned to existing children’s rights and human rights duties, including A Public Sector Debt Bill to protect the most disadvantaged and financially insecure households at risk from experiencing problem public debt. We also called for an end to school meal debt and hidden school hunger for good by expanding free school meals to all low-income families and continuing the School Meal Debt Fund.
The SNP say they will expand Free School Meal entitlement further so every child at primary school can benefit from a free, healthy, nutritious school meal, and will also wipe out school meal debt for good. (The Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Plan published in March also prioritised tackling public debt over the next Parliamentary session).
Scottish Conservatives say they will provide support to help tackle the root causes of poverty, one of which is individuals who are burdened with debt; they will also increase funding for free debt advice and support.
Scottish Labour say they will protect people with public debt, working with public sector stakeholders to implement new standards and protections so no one is pushed into poverty by public sector debt collection; they will also tackle school meal debt, maintaining write off funds and reviewing the thresholds for free school meals in secondary schools.
Scottish Greens say they will wipe out Council Tax debt that pushes families further into poverty and reduce the amount of time that councils and other public bodies can chase public debts such as unpaid Council Tax; end the role of private sector debt collectors in collecting money owed to public bodies; require all public bodies, including local councils, to abide by stricter rules focused on caring for vulnerable people who are in debt to them; and make it illegal for domestic abuse survivors to be chased for public debt arising from the period when they lived with their abuser.
Our view…It is reassuring to see four of the parties make clear commitments to tackle the public debt crisis recognising the role it plays in trapping children and families across Scotland in poverty, as well as both the SNP and Labour commit to ending school meal debt for good.
Supporting families who need extra help
All families who need extra help should have access to the support they need within their community and families experiencing the greatest disadvantage should benefit from targeted and individualised support that tackles the intersecting issues, including those which trap them in poverty.
We called for…significant investment to create sustainable routes out of poverty through whole family support for all families across Scotland who need extra help. This should include individualised support for families which includes income maximisation, energy and debt advice, and a pathway of support toward securing and sustaining fair work.
The SNP say they we will deliver a comprehensive offer of ‘Whole Family Support’ to tackle child poverty and provide every family with early access to the emotional, practical and financial support they need; and they will Keep the Promise to our children, young people and families by 2030.
The Scottish Conservatives say they will provide additional support to help parents return to work with a new ‘extra hours’ model of extended childcare for parents of children from age nine months; and they will support care-experienced children and young people by delivering on the remaining recommendations from the Independent Care Review.
Scottish Labour say they will create Family Network hubs, based on Sure Start principles, to connect families with the support they need to help families connect with the support they need, be it advice on money and benefits, housing, childcare, parenting and employment support; and will also establish a Parent Works Scheme, funding colleges to deliver dedicated training and employment support for parents who are unemployed or in low paid work, so they can fill local skills gaps, boost their household incomes and help lift children out of poverty.
Scottish Greens say they will complete the delivery of The Promise to care experienced young people by 2030.
Scottish Liberal Democrats say will develop family support hubs open to everyone but targeted towards those communities in most need, providing early and holistic emotional, practical and financial support to families; by modelling the best ways to deliver new family support hubs that are close to home and capable of building a network of relationships for families and embedding financial wellbeing checks into more settings to maximise family incomes, taking the opportunity to help people when they attend places such as their GP surgery.
Our view…we are pleased to see cross-party commitments on supporting families who need extra help, and that these are clearly linked to Keeping The Promise and tackling child poverty. However, without clear commitments on investment or further detail on how such family support will be delivered it is difficult to say how each of the parties’ proposals will provide the support for all families across Scotland who need extra help.
Keeping families in recovery together
Women-specific services – both community-based support and residential services – are vital to reduce drugs harm affecting women and their children, and to tackle the drug deaths crisis. Scotland must Keep The Promise for women in recovery and their children by keeping families together, where it is safe to do so.
We called for…more dedicated residential and community-based services for women in recovery and their children, as well as additional capacity in community perinatal services to be available until a child’s second birthday, and agency for individuals to choose which supports and services are best for them.
The SNP say they will treat drug and alcohol harms as a public health mission, delivering more community recovery support, as well as delivering 1000 residential rehabilitation beds.
Scottish Labour say they will invest in alcohol and substance misuse recovery services, maintaining national funding to fund frontline rehabilitation services; simplify oversight of substance misuse services and ensure funding decisions are informed by voices from the frontline of rehabilitation and harm reduction services; expand residential rehabilitation, ensuring it is available to all those who wish to access these services; expand the availability of community rehabilitation programmes, with dedicated funding for peer support programmes and aftercare for individuals completing residential rehabilitation programmes.
Scottish Greens will increase funding for integrated support and treatment services for people with problematic alcohol and other drug use.
Scottish Liberal Democrats will introduce a multi-year funding model for all drugs and alcohol services, to support service providers to invest in facilities, recruit staff, build up relationships with service users, boost access to care and open up new pathways to education and employment for people in recovery; and champion Mother and Child Recovery Houses for those affected by substance abuse and new intensive community-based perinatal services.
Our view…we are disappointed that most parties’ commitments to drug and alcohol treatment and support services do not reflect our calls on women-specific services to support families in recovery. Only the Liberal Democrats have made explicit commitments to investing in and expanding women-specific residential and community-based recovery services to keep families together, which we welcome.
Improving the lives of families living with a disability
Despite the progress made through incorporation of the UNCRC, it is clear there is still much work to be done to protect, respect and champion the human rights of children, young people and families living with a disability in Scotland.
We called for…an end to the financial insecurity faced by families living with a disability by expanding financial support, including full council tax exemptions and extending means-tested winter fuel payment to all households with a disabled child; removal of the ‘cliff edge’ drop in care and support for children and their families when a young person transitions out of children’s services; the necessary investment in community, short break and residential services to Keep The Promise for disabled children, young people and their families and enable them to thrive.
The SNP say they will establish a Transition to Adulthood Guarantee for all disabled young people offering them the support they need to plan and achieve their goals, and will help with heating bills by providing winter heating payments to families with disabled children and the households struggling the most.
Scottish Conservatives say they will invest in 1,000 additional classroom assistants to help teachers and support children with ASN; they support the redevelopment of pathways for diagnosing children with learning disabilities and what subsequent support is made available following diagnosis.
Scottish Labour say they will increase staff capacity in ASN classrooms, with 300 new pupil support assistants based in specialist ASN units or schools to support the children with the highest needs; and support transitions to adulthood, ensuring that young people with additional needs have the support they require.
Scottish Greens say they will ensure additional support needs are covered in Initial Teacher Education and in Continuous Professional Learning opportunities, equipping all teachers with the core skills required to support all of their ASN pupils; and will ensure more young people with additional support needs are provided with the support they require by revising overly restrictive criteria for Coordinated Support Plans.
Scottish Liberal Democrats say they will make sure young people with additional support needs get the support they require, recruiting more expert staff, including specialist behaviour support, ASN teachers, speech and language therapists, and educational psychologists.
Reform UK say they have pledged to reform the current Additional Support for Learning system.
Our view…most parties commitments on supporting children and their families living with a disability focus on improving ASN support in schools by increasing capacity and staffing numbers. Only the SNP and Labour have made commitments to improve transitions as children move from children’s to adult services, and the SNP alone have said they will provide greater financial support for families with a disabled child by extending the Winter Fuel Payment to those families. Much more focus on supporting children and families living with a disability will be required in the next Scottish Parliament to Keep The Promise and fulfil the rights of all Scotland’s children and young people.
So what next? It is good to see so many of Aberlour’s calls reflected across party manifestos. After the elections [Thursday 7th May 2026] our work in the new Scottish Parliament will be to build on this cross-party support and to make sure government and MSPs hold true to what they have committed to. We will continue to use our position and influence to shape legislative and policy developments to make sure we are able to secure the things that our children, young people and families tell us will make a real difference in their lives. In doing this we will continue to do all we can to protect the rights of all children and young people, to Keep The Promise and to end child poverty for good.
Martin Canavan
Head of Policy & Influencing