[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f278obcquyyq51":3,"$f10b3rz2z388kj":29},{"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":13,"seo_description":14,"image":15,"created_at":16,"updated_at":17,"next":18,"prev":19},"01kes6bhwkf3nbhkkmw9afj532","9cdbdd6d-4900-4646-a012-d3e67a5ee788","1",false,"Blog: We can beat child poverty, but we have no time to waste","blog-we-can-beat-child-poverty-but-we-have-no-time-to-waste","\u003Cp>This week’s Scottish Budget couldn’t come at a more pivotal time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After more than a decade of rising child poverty, 2025 finally saw a slight reduction in the number of children growing up in poverty in Scotland.\u003Cbr>Scotland is the only part of the UK where this is true. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is important to acknowledge and welcome the political choices that have been made here to make that happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, more than one in five children are still in living in poverty. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is unacceptable in a country as wealthy as ours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More targeted and urgent action is essential in Scotland if we are to meet our legally-binding child poverty targets by 2030. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These are statutory targets the Scottish Government must meet by prioritising policy decisions and action to significantly reduce levels of child poverty in Scotland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A clear sign that so much more needs to be done is the ongoing, active demand for \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fget-help\u002Furgent-assistance-fund\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund\u003C\u002Fa>. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our fund provides small, emergency cash grants to families to help with essentials. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the past five years, the Fund has distributed £2.8 million in grants. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whilst it would be lovely to think this is being used for some treats and luxuries for hard-pressed families, the reality is that the most common requests are for food, children’s clothing, bedding and help with the cost of heating and lighting – the absolute basics. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grants have been paid to families living in every single one of Scotland’s local authority areas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This shows family poverty reaches across urban, rural and island communities, not just the big cities. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many who apply for this crisis cash support are in work, again illustrating that it is fair work which will make the difference, not just any work. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With nearly a quarter of a million children in Scotland growing up in poverty it’s clear that this is an emergency sabotaging the health, education and futures of thousands of young people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Polling conducted last month by NFP Research has shown that the majority of Scots back increasing financial support and debt relief for families on the lowest incomes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More than 60% of Scots would like to see the Scottish Government increase support for the poorest families. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While nearly 7 in 10 agreed families’ low income is damaging children’s education and ability to participate in school activities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When asked 80% also support expanding free school meals to reach more children with 71% urging the Scottish Government to clear all school meal debt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people of Scotland recognise the damage that poverty does to the lives of children and families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Scottish Government must listen to what Scotland’s children and families are telling them about what will make the biggest difference in their lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Aberlour, our children, young people and families are clear that they want our politicians to do more to end poverty. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They tell us there should be more financial support for families, as cost of living pressures bite ever harder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They tell us there should be more practical help and support for families in their communities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They tell us that they feel there should be much more that they can get from their education to set them up for the future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This week our families want the First Minister to show he is listening, and that he is true to his word that ending child poverty is his Government’s number one priority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gap between good intentions and impactful change, between policy and practice, must be closed to lift families out of poverty and, most importantly, keep them out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It requires accelerating efforts to tackle child poverty through building on what we know works and where investment can make the biggest difference for families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This means using the Budget to set out clear and concrete plans to lift families out of poverty for good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This includes practical action to help and support families living with a disability, single parent families and young parents, amongst others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Social security has a crucial role to play, and putting more money in families’ pockets through increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £40 this year is key.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Parents also need help into fair work, including accessible childcare and employability support for those furthest from the labour market.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Affordable and suitable housing for families is crucial to address the housing emergency that contributes to and exacerbates child poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And tackling the public debt crisis facing low income families will help prevent unsustainable debt that too often traps families in poverty in a never-ending cycle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the Scottish Parliament elections now imminent, we need to see all our politicians (who say they are committed to ending child poverty) pull in the same direction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scotland’s children can’t wait any longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We have no time to waste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Aberlour CEO\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>This article was written for the Scottish Sun and published on Tuesday 13th January 2026.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>",null,"2026-01-13T00:00:00.000000Z","We can beat child poverty, but we have no time to waste","In her latest blog, Aberlour CEO, Justina Murray, ahead of the Scottish Government Budget explains what the First Minister must do to accelerate efforts to tackle child poverty in Scotland.","media\u002FJustina - serious.jpg","2026-01-12T13:29:33.000000Z","2026-01-12T13:31:06.000000Z",{"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":13,"seo_description":14,"image":15,"created_at":16,"updated_at":17},{"id":20,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":21,"slug":22,"content":23,"content_overview":11,"published_at":24,"seo_title":21,"seo_description":25,"image":26,"created_at":27,"updated_at":28},"01kc6j8h6m0ndsajjteq2y8sps","A Christmas Wish for Scotland's Children","a-christmas-wish-for-scotlands-children","\u003Cp>It sounds like a wonderful Christmas. Almost 100 years later, 60 since her memoir was published, Dorothy Haynes, a little girl destined to become a successful writer, clearly enjoyed her \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fnews-item\u002Fwe-woke-to-a-luminous-lightness-an-extravagant-transformation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first festive season at Aberlour Orphanage\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sledging in pristine snow, midnight feasts, carol-singing, games and dances, it sounds idyllic although, away from the roaring fires and tinsel, Dorothy, who was only ten at the time, understood not all the children shared her happy excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There will have been sadness there, of course, for some of the girls and boys without families, others unable to live with them, and, while it is cheering to read of the happiest times, we must look back with clear eyes to ensure we can look ahead with clarity and purpose. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The orphanage in the Speyside village is gone now. It closed in 1967 as we began to explore better ways of caring but Aberlour, the charity it inspired, celebrated our 150th anniversary this year with a series of events inspiring a range of emotions, from pride in our work to frustration that so much more is needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is still a lot to be proud of because, for a century and a half, we have been right there for children in need, by their side, offering them care, support, and love, and helping them through challenging childhoods into brighter futures and happier lives. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the years passed, Aberlour has become one of Scotland’s most enduring and significant charities, protecting and improving the lives and life chances of generations of children, stretching a safety net of residential care and frontline family support across Scotland. The priority of our charity is first to keep children safe and then, whenever possible, keep their families together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, yes, the last 12 months have been a chance to look back on the achievements of the children supported through the years, but would Canon Charles Jupp feel like celebrating 150 years after he opened his orphanage for “mitherless bairns” at Burnside Cottage, Aberlour? Or would he be dismayed that so many children are still growing up in poverty in one of the world’s wealthiest countries, that so many of Scotland’s young people are going to bed cold and going to school hungry, their childhoods harsh and relentless, their chances undercut and futures sabotaged?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I joined Aberlour just two months ago and feel lucky to have arrived in time to mark the anniversary with our staff, volunteers and donors. I have been visiting our services, meeting our teams and getting to know the families we support, and no one I have spoken to, absolutely no one, believes we have time to pat ourselves on the back. Our services may range from residential care and fostering to mother and child recovery houses and specialist family support, but poverty’s corrosive impact on young lives is the seam running through all of them. As a country, as a society, our ambition must be higher than easing poverty. We must work to end it, eradicate it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour cares and supports children and families but helps raise their voices too, and we will continue to campaign for practical, effective, life-changing reform. Warm words will not feed a hungry child or heat their home. We must urgently close the gap between good intentions and real, impactful change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our country is a very different place than it was when Dorothy Haynes enjoyed Christmas in Aberlour. The orphanage is gone and the children who once lived there have children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of their own, but the most important thing for our charity, the urgent need to support disadvantaged children and their families, has not changed a bit. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, our big year is drawing to a close but our work is far from over. A Christmas wish? That it will be one day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Aberlour CEO\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>This article was written for The Sunday Post.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>","2025-12-22T00:00:00.000000Z","Read all about CEO of Aberlour Children's Charity's CEO, Justina Murray's, Christmas wish for Scotland's children as the charity's 150th year comes to an end.","media\u002Fjustina-murray.webp","2025-12-11T11:20:39.000000Z","2025-12-11T16:26:13.000000Z",{"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},"01m5fanaffkxrzkrpj1x4keag4","01j303dmcc6n6900v73fs88bc7","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>","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"]