[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f10b3rz2z388kj":3,"$f1jghkqf4nvcgd":16},{"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":15},"01m45vtvk0pdb1y7c1cqv76edp","9cdbdd6d-4900-4646-a012-d3e67a5ee788","1",false,"Panic and Promises Won't End Child Poverty","panic-and-promises-wont-end-child-poverty","\u003Cp>We live in a world that seems to spin faster every day, where all the dials are turned to 11 all the time.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The headlines crash from one calamity to another as our political leaders rush to promise emergency action while their opponents demand even more urgency. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is noisy, tiring and a few hours later, when the news cycle spins to another red alert, the last one, whatever it was, is most often forgotten. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For years now, child poverty in Scotland has been routinely described as a national emergency demanding emergency action. It is and it does but, with more than one in five children still growing up in poverty in Scotland today, is it time to ask if the language of emergency and crisis is helping?  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps it only encourages more haste but less speed, a birling carousel of taskforces and committees, policy papers and special reports, but too little measured and impactful action? Are we even checking if the blizzard of promises and commitments is being delivered before starting the snow machine again? \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What if the endless planning and process is actually slowing us down? What if somehow all the talk is delaying implementation of practical, tested, and effective measures to improve the lives and secure the life chances of the 210,000 children growing up poor in one of the wealthiest countries in the world? \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because we already know what works. We have known for years.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, there are no magic bullets, no simple solutions to the complex social issues that have blighted our poorest communities for decades. Child poverty, like Scotland’s drugs crisis, another national emergency, is embedded in longstanding economic trends that have stripped far too many of our neighbourhoods of jobs and hope. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those trends will not be reversed overnight but, in the meantime, we should not let perfect be the enemy of good. As Challenge Poverty Week begins today, the biggest challenge is to see the wood not the trees, to recognise and appreciate what is already working and build on it. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are things that we know ease the impact of poverty on young lives; that have been trialled, tested and measured; that inch their families from peril to safety; that give them new strength, confidence and a path to a more secure future. So why not have more of them? \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These are services that our charity and others are delivering every day, hand in glove with our partners in social work, health care and education. These are services delivering real, measurable success, making children safer, healthier and happier today and improving their chances tomorrow. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intensive family support, for example. The clue is in the name. It is the opposite of easy. Any family’s journey back from the very edge of crisis is one of hard yards and no shortcuts. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our teams arrive to work, shoulder to shoulder, with families on the point of collapse, with children often on the edge of care. Ensuring those babies and young people are safe is always the priority but, after that, keeping them with their families is the driving force because that, all research suggests, is the best way to stabilise childhoods and secure futures. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intensive family support means doing whatever it takes to keep children safe and families together. It can rebuild broken relationships; improve parents’ confidence in themselves; create new connections in communities; and help build firmer financial foundations with advice on welfare rights, maximising incomes and problem debt. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any investment in intensive family support and other specialist services, for pregnant women and new mums, for example, is more than returned in thriving families, stronger communities and money saved. Resource is better spent on intensive support keeping families safely together, than managing their separation through a lifetime of crisis-led state intervention.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our two Mother and Child Recovery Houses, in Falkirk and Dundee, for example, offer recovery spaces for pregnant and new mums with a history of substance use, allowing them to recover while staying safely with their babies. This helps keep families together and children at home, improves their futures and saves millions of pounds in avoided care costs. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is true child protection and the big question is not whether we can afford to roll out these services across Scotland but if we can afford not to?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003Cbr>\u003Cstrong>Chief executive of Aberlour Children’s Charity \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>This article was written for the Daily Record and published on Monday 5th October 2026.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>",null,"2026-10-05T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity CEO, Justina Murray, explains what must be done to end child poverty in Scotland. We know what works and we've known for years. ","media\u002FRS873_0E5A9135.jpg","2026-10-05T11:05:26.000000Z",{"id":17,"blog_author_id":6,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":18,"slug":19,"content":20,"content_overview":21,"published_at":22,"seo_title":23,"seo_description":24,"image":25,"created_at":26,"updated_at":27,"next":28,"prev":29},"01j6cdm1r07wt44k9hr6f1gtmg","Charity calls for urgent action to protect children in housing emergency","charity-calls-for-urgent-action-to-protect-children-in-housing-emergency","\u003Cp>A new international charter of children’s rights can protect young Scots at risk in the country’s housing emergency, according to a leading charity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour Children’s Charity said the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) will compel urgent action to deliver safe and stable accommodation for all Scots children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chief executive SallyAnn Kelly OBE welcomed the implementation of UNCRC in Scotland on Tuesday 16th July and said it gives every young Scot the right to a secure childhood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>SallyAnn warned too many children are living in uncertain and unsafe homes, a national emergency detailed by a landmark series in The Herald, and said the crisis is inflicting escalating damage on their health, education and life chances. She applauds the work of homeless charities like Shelter Scotland which has found that 10,000 children are living in temporary accommodation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Kelly said:\u003C\u002Fstrong> “There is no doubt the lives and futures of our children are being undermined by unsuitable accommodation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As Scotland’s housing emergency worsens so does the impact on our children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Issues like dampness, cramped living spaces and unsafe fixtures and fittings risk their physical health.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Meanwhile, they share the stress and anxiety of their parents living in precarious short-term accommodation not knowing where they will be living next week or the week after that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That stress and instability affects their mental health and impacts every aspect of their lives at home, at school, and sabotages their futures.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour, Scotland’s biggest children’s charity, has helped campaign for the introduction of UNCRC in Scotland,\u003Cbr \u002F>\nthe first of the UK nations to legislate for its adoption.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its 54 articles deliver wide-ranging rights to education, health care and lives free of neglect, abuse and exploitation. Article 27 guarantees every child “an adequate standard of living” including food, clothing and housing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kelly said the international legally binding agreement will place new responsibilities on public bodies and third sector organisations and, taken together, every child, in every postcode, has the right to live free of poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, one in four young Scots are growing up in poverty – one in three across the UK – with research exposing an escalating impact on their physical and mental health, education attainment and life chances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Kelly said:\u003C\u002Fstrong> “The UNCRC means every public body and third sector organisation whose work involves the welfare of children must ensure we are meeting these new legal responsibilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Its introduction in Scotland gives new legal duties and impetus for practical and effective measures to combat child poverty and the housing crisis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No child chooses to grow up in poverty but it is a political choice to make ending poverty a priority.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>This article was written for The Herald and published on Tuesday 16th July 2024.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>\n","\u003Cp>A new international charter of children’s rights can protect young Scots at risk in the country’s housing emergency, according to a leading charity. Aberlour Children’s Charity said the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) will compel urgent action to deliver safe and stable accommodation for all Scots children. Chief executive SallyAnn … \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fweb-backend.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fcharity-calls-for-urgent-action-to-protect-children-in-housing-emergency\u002F\">Continued\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n","2024-07-16T00:00:00.000000Z","Charity calls for urgent action to protect children in housing emergency - Aberlour - Web Backend","Aberlour CEO, SallyAnn Kelly OBE, explains in The Herald why the UNCRC will compel urgent action to deliver safe and stable accommodation for all Scots children.","media\u002FSallyAnn-Final-scaled.jpg","2024-08-28T11:58:31.000000Z","2024-11-25T07:22:17.000000Z",{"id":17,"blog_author_id":6,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":18,"slug":19,"content":20,"content_overview":21,"published_at":22,"seo_title":23,"seo_description":24,"image":25,"created_at":26,"updated_at":27},{"id":30,"blog_author_id":6,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":31,"slug":32,"content":33,"content_overview":34,"published_at":35,"seo_title":36,"seo_description":37,"image":25,"created_at":26,"updated_at":27},"01j6cdm1r7f7sf2fcgknhq8cxd","Leading children’s charity urges PM to scrap child benefit cap","leading-childrens-charity-urges-pm-to-scrap-child-benefit-cap","\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">Keir Starmer must scrap the two-child benefit cap and rescue thousands of young Scots trapped in poverty, according to the country’s biggest children’s charity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">One in four Scots children are now living in poverty and Aberlour is calling on the Prime Minister to take urgent action to improve their lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">Chief Executive SallyAnn Kelly OBE called on the new Labour government to launch an immediate review of Universal Credit including the ban on low-income families receiving support for any more than two children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">\u003Cstrong>She said:\u003C\u002Fstrong> “We know beyond any doubt how much damage poverty is inflicting on the lives and life chances of children across Scotland. This is the true cost of not investing in these children and their families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">“We also know beyond doubt that scrapping the two-child cap is the single most immediate way of reducing that damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">“The system of Universal Credit must be reviewed as a matter of urgency and the cap removed or neutralised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">“We have heard many promises about ending child poverty and easing its impact but now is the time for action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">“It is time to take effective steps to protect and improve the lives of children trapped in poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">“No child chooses to live in poverty but offering them effective help is a political choice and there should be no greater priority for any country or any government.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">Kelly spoke out days before Scotland becomes the first UK nation to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) imposing a legal duty on public bodies to ensure children grow up in safety and security with Article 26 giving every child and their family the right to social security.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">On Wednesday 10th July, the Daily Record revealed Anas Sarwar is also urging the new Prime Minister to review the two-child benefit cap which affects 27,000 Scottish households.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">Starmer refused to commit to abolition during the election before detailing the costs but the Scottish Labour leader wants the policy scrapped as part of an upcoming review of Universal Credit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"text-align: left;\">\u003Cstrong>Keir Starmer told The Daily Record:\u003C\u002Fstrong> “We want to have the review of Universal Credit. We want to create the financial conditions where we can move on the two-child limit.”\u003Cbr \u002F>\n“We will continue to push for it to happen and we want to make sure we’re part of helping create the economic conditions to make that happen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>This article was written for The Daily Record and published on Friday 12th July 2024.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>\n","\u003Cp>Keir Starmer must scrap the two-child benefit cap and rescue thousands of young Scots trapped in poverty, according to the country’s biggest children’s charity. One in four Scots children are now living in poverty and Aberlour is calling on the Prime Minister to take urgent action to improve their lives. Chief Executive SallyAnn Kelly OBE … \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fweb-backend.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fleading-childrens-charity-urges-pm-to-scrap-child-benefit-cap\u002F\">Continued\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n","2024-07-12T00:00:00.000000Z","Leading children’s charity urges PM to scrap child benefit cap - Aberlour - Web Backend","Aberlour CEO, SallyAnn Kelly OBE, urges the UK Government Prime Minister to scrap the two-child benefit cap to lift children out of poverty."]