[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f10b3rz2z388kj":3,"$f3gdtdeylp40cs":16},{"id":4,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":5,"is_featured":6,"title":7,"slug":8,"content":9,"content_overview":10,"published_at":11,"seo_title":7,"seo_description":12,"image":13,"created_at":14,"updated_at":15},"01m5yr36vzgnkxw06xbrd8qvy9","1",false,"We can change Scotland's story on alcohol","we-can-change-scotlands-story-on-alcohol","\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">\u003Cspan style=\"mso-special-character: footnote;\">\u003C!-- [if !supportFootnotes]-->\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justina Murray, Chief Executive, Aberlour Children’s Charity\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This week we have seen further evidence of Scotland’s toxic relationship with alcohol, with the publication of the latest alcohol-specific death figures.\u003Ca href=\"#_edn1\">[1]\u003C\u002Fa> In 2025, 1,152 people in Scotland died through alcohol.\u003Ca href=\"#_edn2\">[2]\u003C\u002Fa> This may be 3% lower than the previous year, but it remains 13% up on pre-pandemic levels. Alarmingly, death rates for women are rising (3% up).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The human toll of this loss is traumatic for families and communities. So, so many lives lost. And this sits alongside the everyday harms felt by those concerned about their own drinking, and those desperately worried about keeping their loved ones alive. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The story of alcohol in Scotland today is that we have a higher rate of alcohol deaths than England and Wales. We buy more alcohol per adult than England and Wales. Almost 1 in 5 of us drink enough to harm our health and to be classed as hazardous, harmful or dependent drinkers. More of us are diagnosed with chronic liver disease each year. We don’t really think about alcohol being linked to over 200 health conditions or causing 7 different types of cancer. In a country where we routinely hear, “There is no money”, alcohol harm is estimated to cost us up to £10 billion a year.\u003Ca href=\"#_edn3\">[3]\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There is little sign of any shift in Scotland’s entrenched ‘Alcohol Everywhere’ culture. Just this week (only a day after the alcohol death figures were released), a hospitality chain in Edinburgh asked for licensing permission for unaccompanied 12-15 year olds to be in their pubs until 8pm, describing these as “family-friendly” and “accessible” environments for young people.\u003Ca href=\"#_edn4\">[4]\u003C\u002Fa> And earlier this month we saw the First Minister raising a glass of whisky on the front cover of the SNP conference handbook, of all of the images which could have been used under the banner ‘Choose Scotland’.\u003Ca href=\"#_edn5\">[5]\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And what is the story for the children and families we support? I joined Aberlour last year - our 150th birthday year. Perhaps due to that timing, or certainly encouraged by it, I often reflect on the organisation’s long history and deep legacy, including what might be the same or different now compared to the early days of the Aberlour orphanage. This grew to care for up to 600 children at any one time, all in one place. Nowadays our models of care have radically altered, with our remodelled Sycamore children’s houses providing safe and loving family-sized homes in the community for 3 or 4 children at a time, alongside a broad continuum of services to support babies, children, young people and families facing disadvantage and adversity, from early help to the most intensive support. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Despite all these changes, that thread of alcohol harm in families - and the havoc this creates in every respect - runs through every chapter of our 150 years. This harm impacts the lives of children and families across every one of our services today, just as it shaped the story for so many children arriving at the original Aberlour orphanage.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But we are also working alongside families to change Scotland’s story on alcohol. There is quite rightly a call for better prevention and early support for families, but how we respond in a crisis speaks volumes. We offer a range of specialist services for pregnant and new mums and their babies where there is harm through alcohol and other substances. This includes our residential Mother and Child Recovery Houses, alongside community-based perinatal and intensive perinatal services. The impact of these services is mind-blowing, with 65-70% of mums staying safely with their babies, when previously their children were at extremely high risk of going into care - with all the accompanying human and financial cost of this. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These services provide concrete and costed evidence that with the right approach and investment, we can write a whole new chapter alongside children and families. This support offers a blueprint for whole family recovery, helps us #KeepThePromise (not just say it), delivers effective child protection, and models outcomes-focused Public Service Reform. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s time for a different story on alcohol harm in Scotland, let’s turn the page. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"mso-element: endnote-list;\">\u003C!-- [if !supportEndnotes]-->\u003Cbr clear=\"all\">\u003Chr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\">\u003C!--[endif]-->\n\u003Cdiv id=\"edn1\" style=\"mso-element: endnote;\">\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">\u003Ca style=\"mso-endnote-id: edn1;\" title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\">\u003Cspan style=\"mso-special-character: footnote;\">\u003C!-- [if !supportFootnotes]-->\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">[1]\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C!--[endif]-->\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa> \u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nrscotland.gov.uk\u002Fpublications\u002Falcohol-specific-deaths-2025\">https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nrscotland.gov.uk\u002Fpublications\u002Falcohol-specific-deaths-2025\u003C\u002Fa>. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv id=\"edn2\" style=\"mso-element: endnote;\">\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">\u003Ca style=\"mso-endnote-id: edn2;\" title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref2\" name=\"_edn2\">\u003Cspan style=\"mso-special-character: footnote;\">\u003C!-- [if !supportFootnotes]-->\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">[2]\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C!--[endif]-->\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa> \u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">Note that alcohol-specific deaths only include those specifically caused by alcohol, such as alcoholic liver disease, alcohol poisoning.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv id=\"edn3\" style=\"mso-element: endnote;\">\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">\u003Ca style=\"mso-endnote-id: edn3;\" title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref3\" name=\"_edn3\">\u003Cspan style=\"mso-special-character: footnote;\">\u003C!-- [if !supportFootnotes]-->\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">[3]\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C!--[endif]-->\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa> \u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">You can find lots of useful information and statistics at Alcohol Focus Scotland on Scotland’s relationship with alcohol and alcohol harm, including a great series of monthly blogs by Chief Exec Carolyn Lochhead, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk\u002F\">https:\u002F\u002Fwww.alcohol-focus-scotland.org.uk\u002F\u003C\u002Fa> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv id=\"edn4\" style=\"mso-element: endnote;\">\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">\u003Ca style=\"mso-endnote-id: edn4;\" title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref4\" name=\"_edn4\">\u003Cspan style=\"mso-special-character: footnote;\">\u003C!-- [if !supportFootnotes]-->\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">[4]\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C!--[endif]-->\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa> \u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002Fcm62yj7nqj77o\">https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002Fcm62yj7nqj77o\u003C\u002Fa> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv id=\"edn5\" style=\"mso-element: endnote;\">\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\">\u003Ca style=\"mso-endnote-id: edn5;\" title=\"\" href=\"#_ednref5\" name=\"_edn5\">\u003Cspan style=\"mso-special-character: footnote;\">\u003C!-- [if !supportFootnotes]-->\u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">[5]\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C!--[endif]-->\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa> \u003Cspan style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\">\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fs3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com\u002Fwww.snp.org\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F06\u002FSNP-Handbook-26-online-5-public.pdf\">https:\u002F\u002Fs3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com\u002Fwww.snp.org\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F06\u002FSNP-Handbook-26-online-5-public.pdf\u003C\u002Fa> \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"mso-element: endnote-list;\">\n\u003Cdiv id=\"edn5\" style=\"mso-element: endnote;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>",null,"2026-10-29T00:00:00.000000Z","This week we have seen further evidence of Scotland’s toxic relationship with alcohol, with the publication of the latest alcohol-specific death figures.","media\u002F1301_transform.webp","2026-10-27T13:16:48.000000Z","2026-10-30T08:58:49.000000Z",{"id":17,"blog_author_id":18,"blog_category_id":19,"is_featured":6,"title":20,"slug":21,"content":22,"content_overview":10,"published_at":23,"seo_title":20,"seo_description":24,"image":25,"created_at":26,"updated_at":27,"next":28,"prev":39},"01kgfk6r6mqf61nc546ywdjyjv","9cdbdd6d-4900-4646-a012-d3e67a5ee788","01j303dmcc6n6900v73fs88bc7","Blog: Scotland's poorest families trapped by the public debt crisis","scotlands-poorest-families-trapped-by-the-public-debt-crisis","\u003Cp>As cost-of-living pressures continue to bite, Scotland’s poorest families are finding it ever harder to make ends meet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So many families face financial insecurity that means they struggle to pay bills or to afford everyday essentials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We can see this daily at Aberlour, where families access our \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fget-help\u002Furgent-assistance-fund\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Urgent Assistance Fund\u003C\u002Fa> for help to cover just the basics, like putting food on the table, heating their homes or clothing their children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alongside the day-to-day experiences of the families we support, Aberlour’s own research reveals that \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fabout-us\u002Fpolicy-and-influencing\u002Fpublic-debt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">public debt\u003C\u002Fa> – such as council tax, rent arrears and even \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fabout-us\u002Fpolicy-and-influencing\u002Fpublic-debt\u002Fschool-meal-debt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">school meal debt\u003C\u002Fa> – is pushing children and families into poverty, and trapping them there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too often this is the result of aggressive and punitive public debt recovery processes which fail to recognise the adverse impact this can have on families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Debt recovery action by local authorities can be brutally swift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A family can move from one missed council tax payment, to a demand for the full amount, to sheriff officers at their door demanding payment, all in the space of a matter of weeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For families who rely on Universal Credit, local authorities can choose not to pursue outstanding debt and arrears this way, but to use equally harmful methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, they can request direct debt recovery via the Department of Work and Pensions, using deductions that are taken straight from families’ Universal Credit income.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For families there is no right to appeal or representation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Evidence shows that more than half of low-income families with children in Scotland receiving Universal Credit have at least one such deduction from their monthly incomes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On average, this amounts to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fabout-us\u002Fpolicy-and-influencing\u002Fpublic-debt\u002Fresearch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">£1000 per year\u003C\u002Fa> being taken from a family’s already inadequate income to cover these debts. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Further research published by Aberlour projects that over the next five years, low income households receiving Universal Credit will lose a total of nearly £1billion due to such benefit deductions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is at a time when both the Scottish and UK Governments have stated that ending child poverty is a priority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both governments are implementing key reforms to social security to help achieve this, including ending the cruel two child limit and increasing the Scottish Child Payment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, many families will not feel the full benefit of these changes if any increase in income simply goes straight towards covering debt owed to the state in one form or another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is a clear example of the state giving with one hand and taking away with another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Universal Credit is a reserved policy area, meaning it remains the responsibility of the UK Government, the money collected via deductions is often used to cover debts owed to Scottish local authorities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Most often these types of ‘third party’ deductions are for council tax debt recovered on behalf of councils. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Scottish Sun’s evidence of the scale of third party deductions from the Universal Credit income of Scottish families is extremely worrying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It should alert us to the need to urgently change how public debt is recovered in Scotland, so we prevent rather than worsen child poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enforcing Universal Credit deductions from our lowest income families to recover public debt creates a two-tier system of debt recovery for those who rely on benefits, and fails to take into account families’ already challenging circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour’s research also shows that public debt \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fabout-us\u002Fpolicy-and-influencing\u002Fpublic-debt\u002Fgendered-nature\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">disproportionately affects women\u003C\u002Fa>, as they are at much greater risk of experiencing problem public debt, in particular female single parents and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fabout-us\u002Fpolicy-and-influencing\u002Fpublic-debt\u002Fdisability-lone-parents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">women living in disabled households\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We can also see the impact of coerced debt, a common form of domestic abuse that exploits women’s economic inequality and can trap them and their children in poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too often public debt (such as council tax debt) built up by an abusive partner results in the woman being liable for these debts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victims of domestic and financial abuse deserve protection, not further punishment, by the very same local authorities who campaign to end violence against women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Scottish Government has taken some positive steps in recent years to recognise that public debt is a significant issue faced by low income families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, writing off school meal debt for struggling families who do not qualify for free school meals – thanks to a joint campaign by Aberlour and The Scottish Sun – helped 30,000 children and their families in Scotland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, tackling the public debt crisis to prevent families being pushed deeper into poverty means Scotland must begin to do debt recovery differently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a country we should both protect those most at risk from problem public debt and also prevent it in the first place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is why, ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections, Aberlour is calling on all political parties to prioritise tackling Scotland’s public debt crisis and ending child poverty for good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>CEO\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>This article was written for The Scottish Sun and published on 18th March 2026.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-03-18T00:00:00.000000Z","In her latest blog Aberlour CEO, Justina Murray, explains why ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections Aberlour Children's Charity is calling on all political parties to prioritise tackling Scotland’s public debt crisis and ending child poverty for good","media\u002FJustina - serious.jpg","2026-02-02T16:33:06.000000Z","2026-03-18T09:26:55.000000Z",{"id":29,"blog_author_id":18,"blog_category_id":30,"is_featured":6,"title":31,"slug":32,"content":33,"content_overview":10,"published_at":34,"seo_title":31,"seo_description":35,"image":36,"created_at":37,"updated_at":38},"01kmfzs86rncaw6xc8hjbh59h4","2","Aberlour's response to The 'Promise Bill'","aberlours-response-to-the-promise-bill","\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">We welcome the passing of the Children’s (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill (the ‘Promise’ Bill). \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">In 2020 Scotland made a pledge to children, young people and families to do all we can to keep families together and where this is not possible, to provide the best care so all children can thrive. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">Aberlour is committed to delivering The Promise, ensuring all children and young people across Scotland experience being safe and loved.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">Improvements to the Children’s Hearing System, establishing the right to lifelong advocacy and extending aftercare provision to all those who left care before their 16\u003Csup>th\u003C\u002Fsup> birthday will all help to improve the lives of care experienced children and young people in Scotland.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">During the development and scrutiny of the Bill we were pleased to be able to reflect the views and experiences of children, young people and families at Aberlour and we know these changes will make a difference.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">However, we know that this Bill will not in and of itself help Keep the Promise to Scotland’s children, young people and families. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">There will be more to do in the next Parliamentary session if we are to stay on track to meet our ambition of Keeping the Promise by 2030.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">That’s why, ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections, we are calling on all political parties to commit to Keep The Promise. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">This must include working together to guarantee the necessary legislative and policy changes that will continue to drive our shared ambition.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">That must mean ensuring the capacity and resource across the workforce to effectively support those who support children, young people and families.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"line-height: 115%;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Segoe UI'; color: #242424; background: white; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;\">Significant investment must follow to support local authorities, social work and third sector to meet their duties to protect, respect and fulfil the rights of all care experienced children and young people across Scotland.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Lynne O'Brien\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Aberlour Chief Officer\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-03-24T00:00:00.000000Z","Lynne O'Brien, Aberlour Chief Officer, responds to the Scottish Government's The Promise Bill.","media\u002FLynne OBrien Photo.jpg","2026-03-24T13:15:43.000000Z","2026-03-24T14:46:39.000000Z",{"id":40,"blog_author_id":18,"blog_category_id":19,"is_featured":6,"title":41,"slug":42,"content":43,"content_overview":10,"published_at":44,"seo_title":41,"seo_description":45,"image":46,"created_at":47,"updated_at":48},"01kkvf9zsf6q7619vfygfj2ztm","Blog: Public Debt Collection Harms Abuse Survivors","blog-public-debt-collection-harms-abuse-survivors","\u003Cp>Scotland’s public sector is full of skilled and committed people delivering the essential, everyday services our communities are built on. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sadly, however, it is now beyond doubt that how those same public bodies pursue and collect debt, like council tax and rent arrears, is sabotaging the lives of thousands of families, many led by single mothers, many of them fleeing abusive partners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their violence may have been physical or psychological or, most commonly, both but, in recent years, we have become far more aware of how money and debt is routinely weaponised to coerce and intimidate. Many survivors will have been allowed no control of cash coming into their home and only discover they are liable for money owed by their ex when they leave. Any hope of a new beginning is crushed beneath a spinning wheel of old debt, new loans and unpaid interest. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The worry of how they and their children will survive financially is often the only reason women have remained with abusive partners and, after finally escaping them, their family can easily be capsized by a single but unexpected bill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dismayingly, many are suffering because of actions being taken in our name. Debt Awareness Week started yesterday [MONDAY 16 MARCH] and should remind us of a public debt crisis demanding urgent reform of collection mechanisms that can be as cruel as they are relentless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is no secret. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fpublications\u002Fgendered-nature-public-debt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Landmark research\u003C\u002Fa> detailing how more women than men are at risk of being driven into poverty by local or national government debt collection was published last year and should be required reading for every party leader and candidate in the looming Scottish Parliament elections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The authoritative analysis, commissioned by Aberlour and two other leading charities, One Parent Families Scotland and Trussell, only amplified the alarm bells sounded by our frontline support teams, which have, for years now, been warning women are at particular risk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The anonymised records of 71,000 people seeking debt advice in Scotland revealed 57% were women and they owed most in public debt. Single mothers - 92% of lone parents - and those living in households where a child or adult is disabled were particularly at risk with the psychological toll of debt often damaging their physical and mental health, propelling them into debt and poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The research, led by Professor Morag Treanor, of Glasgow University, suggested caring responsibilities can often mean reduced income, less financial resilience and greater risk of poverty while deductions from benefits to pay arrears often stretches household budgets to breaking point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The analysis should be an emergency flare, a signal to intervene, a call to action. There are better, more humane, and less destructive ways to collect, or cancel, this kind of debt. We can do things better. We can offer respite. Our campaign to cancel school meal debt, for example, persuaded the Scottish Government to write off £2.8 million owed by families of 70,000 children two years ago. We learned last week that debt is again increasing in the absence of sustained and sustainable relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our public sector is rarely criticised for not being bureaucratic enough and it can be forgotten that all the forms, slipping from one inbox to another, involve a real family, often in real crisis. One government department can be deducting money from a benefits payment to recoup one debt, for example, while, oblivious, another is doing the same. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For want of a conversation, or a flag on a file, families are driven to the brink, without money to buy food or heat their homes. Even greater automation is unlikely to increase empathy as algorithms and artificial intelligence increasingly drive debt collection without the possibility of discretion, pause, or a human touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These systems, our systems, are, however unwittingly, helping abusers and punishing survivors. The collection of public debt need not be so punitive. Its collection in the private sector is certainly more regulated and often more compassionate, while public authorities continue to trap families in a cycle of seized benefits, missed payments, emergency loans and extortionate interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any case, the money being recouped is an absolute pittance compared to the potential economic and social benefits created by healthier, happier children freed from poverty with their whole lives ahead of them. Our sense of decency should drive reform but so too should clear-eyed pragmatism. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fnews-item\u002Faberlour-response-to-scottish-governments-tackling-child-poverty-plan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thursday\u003C\u002Fa>, the Scottish Government detailed a plan of action to tackle child poverty. A \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fnews-item\u002Faberlours-response-to-continued-investment-from-the-scottish-government-for-our-mother-and-child-recovery-houses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">few days earlier\u003C\u002Fa>, first minister John Swinney announced a raft of related measures including the extension of support for \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fservice\u002Fmother-and-child-recovery-houses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aberlour’s Mother and Child Recovery Houses\u003C\u002Fa>, offering residential support to keep children with their mums while they get specialist help for issues around substance use. It almost goes without saying, that many, if not all, have survived abuse and endured poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This expert work is the opposite of easy but has the power to save then transform the lives of mothers and the futures of their children. It is exactly the kind of work needed if child poverty is to be not eased but eradicated. We should not be hoping to manage such social devastation but end it. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That will be a long journey but can start with the smallest step. Some of those steps will be taken by the mums leaving our Mother and Child Recovery Houses in good health with their children beside them.  Thousands upon thousands more of those steps should be taken by families offered respite from the burden of public debt and allowed to take a breath, regroup, restart and rebuild.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\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 Scotsman and published on Tuesday 17th March 2026\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-03-17T00:00:00.000000Z","In our latest blog Aberlour Children's Charity's CEO, Justina Murray, explains how public debt collection harms abuse survivors.","media\u002FJustina Serious_Outside_0E5A9794.jpg","2026-03-16T14:02:57.000000Z","2026-03-16T16:43:16.000000Z"]