[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f106690yx02r9u":3,"$f10b3rz2z388kj":40},{"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,"next":17,"prev":29},"01kq7kq5gvp4smbea901xpjrxk","9cdbdd6d-4900-4646-a012-d3e67a5ee788","1",false,"Charities raise the voice of children on the campaign trail","charities-raise-the-voice-of-children-on-the-campaign-trail","\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Young people quiz politicians at Scottish election hustings \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ciframe style=\"display: table; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F-Iee6HjGYJc\" width=\"full\" height=\"314\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\">\u003C\u002Fiframe>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice of young people has been raised in the Holyrood election campaign at a special hustings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leading charities campaigning for an end to child poverty staged the event when young people were given the chance to quiz candidates in the Scottish Parliament election next month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young people, many of them under 16 and still too young to vote, grilled the aspiring MSPs on their parties’ plans to tackle priority issues, including the impact of poverty on their lives and life chances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour Children’s Charity, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.savethechildren.org.uk\u002Fwhat-we-do\u002Fchild-poverty\u002Fuk-child-poverty\u002Fscotland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Save the Children Scotland\u003C\u002Fa> and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcpag.org.uk\u002Fwhat-we-do\u002Fcpags-work-scotland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland (CPAG) \u003C\u002Fa>staged the \u003Cstrong>“Speak Up!”\u003C\u002Fstrong> event before the election on 7 May 2026.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The election comes as research reveals around one in five children are growing up in poverty in Scotland with most party manifestos including policies intended to ease the crisis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the trio of campaigning charities behind the hustings in Glasgow on Thursday [23 APRIL 2026] fear the voice of children has not been heard in the campaign so far.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The panel of Holyrood candidates included Shirley-Anne Somerville, the SNP secretary for social justice; Patrick Harvie, former leader of the Scottish Greens; Scottish Labour candidate Vonnie Sandlan and Paul McGarry, standing for the Liberal Democrats. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Children and young people from across Scotland helped organise the hustings and chose the questions at the standing-room only event at The Boardwalk venue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The panel was quizzed on issues ranging from the homelessness crisis and how to reduce the cost of school, from cheaper uniforms to free meals, to better support for care-experienced children and young asylum seekers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The need to ease the wide-ranging impact of poverty was a recurring theme with the candidates promising a range of policies to support children and their families, from increasing the Scottish Child Payment to creating better-paid jobs and apprenticeships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the event, \u003Cstrong>Justina Murray, chief executive of Aberlour\u003C\u002Fstrong>, thanked the candidates for their commitment to easing the impact of poverty but said it must be the priority of the next Scottish Government.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>She said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>The parties’ manifestos have also addressed some of these issues and that is welcome but words on a page are not nearly enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Election promises mean little compared to effective policies backed by the resource and ambition to drive them into place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We are grateful to the candidates for attending the hustings that allowed our young people to explain why child poverty is not a crisis to be managed but a national emergency to be ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Laurie Goldie, Participation Manager at Save the Children Scotland, said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>We were delighted to partner with Aberlour and CPAG in Scotland to design and deliver a political hustings with a difference, with young people front and centre. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Children and young people care about child poverty and the issues that impact them, their classmates, and their families. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s so important that they get the opportunity to hold our political representatives to account ahead of the Scottish elections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Meaningful involvement of children and young people must be considered non-negotiable as Scotland aims to achieve the 2030 Child Poverty Targets. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Politicians must listen, act on what they’ve heard, and find more meaningful ways to engage young people in the next parliament.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>John Dickie, director of CPAG in Scotland, said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Young people used this special hustings to tell Holyrood candidates that they need to end child poverty if children’s lives are to be improved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Involving young people is key to understanding how things must change.  The questions they put to candidates were powerful and to the point.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It's vital that all parties now act on what young people are telling them about the impact poverty is having on their lives. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The next Parliament must listen to young people and deliver action that will further reduce the costs children face at school as well as boost family incomes so that no child is held back by poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>",null,"2026-04-27T00:00:00.000000Z","Ahead of the Scottish Elections on 7th May 2026 Aberlour Children’s Charity, Save the Children Scotland and Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland (CPAG) held Speak Up! an event for young people to quiz candidates in the Scottish Parliament election.","media\u002FSpeak Up Young Peoples Hustings 2026_compressed.jpg","2026-04-27T13:58:02.000000Z","2026-08-12T13:42:09.000000Z",{"id":18,"blog_author_id":19,"blog_category_id":20,"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},"01kqc8fr0q08p6qs9rcr06zkyh","9cdbdd25-1564-45ec-84de-602c5009ebe1","01j303dmcc6n6900v73fs88bc7","An Open Letter to all Party Leaders","an-open-letter-to-all-party-leaders","\u003Cp>It is shameful that children in Scotland are burdened with school meal debt and many are going hungry at school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour has campaigned alongside the Scottish Sun to see an end to school meal debt and hidden school hunger. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our campaign successfully influenced the Scottish Government to write off school meal debt for around 70,000 children and their families. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We welcomed the introduction of the National School Meal Debt Fund by the Scottish Government to cancel school meal debt for struggling families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alongside this we also welcomed the extension of free school meals to all primary school aged children whose families receive the Scottish Child Payment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, despite the introduction of the fund, which cleared outstanding school meal debt of nearly £3 million up to March 2024, many families are already seeing their debts build up again as their circumstances remain unchanged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Scottish Government’s own recent reporting on delivery of the National School Meal Debt Fund concluded that school meal debt is reported to be rising again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>School meal debt continues to be a financial strain on low-income families across Scotland and is a symptom of many not having enough money to provide for their children. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tackling child poverty must include ending school meal debt and hidden school hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Aberlour, we see first-hand how families are turning to foodbanks because they can’t afford food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We see parents go without meals to feed their children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We see children arrive at school without having had breakfast. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is unacceptable in a country as wealthy as Scotland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Government has a legal duty to uphold children’s rights, including realising children’s right to food by making sure all children have access to healthy and nutritious food, whether this is at home or at school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With never-ending cost-of-living pressures squeezing families’ budgets – which will only get worse due to ongoing political and economic crises - many are wondering how they will survive. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thousands of struggling families still do not qualify for free school meals, leaving children to either go hungry or accumulate debt when they receive a school meal their families cannot afford. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For some, this debt reaches hundreds of pounds per child, adding to the already overwhelming financial burden so many families are facing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite previous efforts to tackle this issue, what is clear is we need to prevent school meal debt from occurring in the first place. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We cannot accept living in a country where families are unable to feed their children and children regularly go hungry at school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is why, ahead of the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections, we are calling on all party leaders to end school meal debt and hidden school hunger for good by:\u003Cbr>•    Continuing the National School Meal Debt Fund until it is no longer needed\u003Cbr>•    Increasing free school meal eligibility to all low-income families receiving the Scottish Child Payment. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>\u003Cem>Signed Aberlour and The Scottish Sun\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Published in The Scottish Sun on 29 April 2026\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-04-29T00:00:00.000000Z","It is shameful that children in Scotland are burdened with school meal debt and many are going hungry at school.","media\u002FEmma image compressed.jpg","2026-04-29T09:17:56.000000Z","2026-04-29T09:19:41.000000Z",{"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":36,"seo_description":37,"image":38,"created_at":39,"updated_at":39},"01kmngks80qyvk8d0w8ejgt86e","2","Aberlour's response to the Child Poverty Statistics 2026","aberlours-response-to-the-child-poverty-statistics-2026","\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Children have the right to grow up free from poverty. \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today both the UK and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.scot\u002Fcollections\u002Fchild-poverty-statistics\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scottish Governments \u003C\u002Fa>have published new poverty statistics, including rates of child poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Scotland we can see that the introduction of more progressive social security policies, such as the unique Scottish Child Payment, is having a positive impact. The latest statistics show that 27% of children in the UK are living in relative poverty, compared to \u003Cstrong>21% in Scotland.\u003C\u002Fstrong> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However this means that \u003Cstrong>over 1 in 5 children in Scotland are still living in poverty\u003C\u002Fstrong> - a shameful statistic for a country whose top priority is eradicating child poverty. That equates to 210,000 children missing out on the opportunities, experiences and essentials that every child should have.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And 75% of these children are living in working households, showing how much more needs to be done to promote fair work - that is well paid and secure jobs - alongside flexible and affordable childcare. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whilst the rate of child poverty in Scotland is slowly moving downwards, the pace is nowhere near fast enough we are to meet our legally binding child poverty targets by 2030\u002F31 - that’s only a few years’ time. And we know that some families remain at higher risk of poverty and disadvantage, including those in disabled households and single parent families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Political choices around eradicating child poverty have taken us so far, but this must be matched by far more high impact and practical measures to lift all families out of poverty for good. This includes increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £55 a week by the end of the next Parliament, tackling the public debt crisis which traps families in poverty, and improving our social security system to maximise household income and remove the barriers which leave so many families behind. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We remain steadfast in our\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fpublications\u002Fsupporting-families-ending-child-poverty-scottish-parliament-election-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> call to all political parties\u003C\u002Fa> in Scotland - the next Parliament must be the parliament where we prioritise ending child poverty above all else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Aberlour CEO\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-03-26T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity's response to the Child Poverty Statistics 2026","Read a statement from Aberlour Children's Charity's CEO, Justina Murray, on the charity's response to the Child Poverty Statistics 2026.","media\u002FJustina Murray_Serious_Office.jpg","2026-03-26T16:46:01.000000Z",{"id":41,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":20,"is_featured":7,"title":42,"slug":43,"content":44,"content_overview":11,"published_at":45,"seo_title":42,"seo_description":46,"image":47,"created_at":48,"updated_at":49},"01m5fanaffkxrzkrpj1x4keag4","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"]