[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f10b3rz2z388kj":3,"$ftti2wn88uf35":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":18,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":19,"slug":20,"content":21,"content_overview":11,"published_at":22,"seo_title":11,"seo_description":11,"image":23,"created_at":24,"updated_at":25,"next":26,"prev":36},"01kvg9g9re3699age7njzbmy5d","9cdbddb3-27e4-445e-ba80-d11bf304127a","Aberlour CEO Justina Murray Reflects on Refugee Week and Being Brave","some-reflections-on-refugee-week-and-being-brave","\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: normal;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif;\">Today (Saturday 20 June) marks World Refugee Day and the penultimate day of Scotland’s own \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.refugeefestivalscotland.co.uk\u002F\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif;\">Refugee Festival\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif;\">, celebrating our solidarity through art, culture and community. This weekend I’m looking forward to diving into the Festival, and its lively programme of activities and events. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: normal;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif;\">The theme for this year’s Refugee Week is courage - a value and a behaviour which sits very comfortably with us at Aberlour. Those who know us will also know that ‘Being Brave’ is absolutely in our comfort zone. The fact this is the name of our strategy says it all, we’re not ones to wheesht when something needs to be said. We are not afraid to Be Brave, and this includes being brave for those children and young people who have arrived in Scotland from elsewhere, having had no choice but to make new lives for themselves far from home. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: normal;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif;\">Our \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fget-help\u002Fguardianship-scotland\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif;\">Guardianship Scotland\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif;\"> service, a partnership with our wonderful colleagues at the Scottish Refugee Council, provides specialist support to all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, victims of trafficking and children vulnerable to trafficking who arrive in Scotland alone. Our Guardianship young people have shown an incredible amount of courage and overcome huge challenges just to be in Scotland. They have life experiences that no childhood should include, such as violence, persecution, trafficking and exploitation, and they have had to make incredibly hard choices whilst being completely alone. By the time they reach us, they are exhausted, scared, traumatised, and carrying memories and experiences which would defeat most adults. And far from their trauma being over when they arrive here, they must then navigate the UK’s asylum, refugee and trafficking systems and processes which can only be described as overwhelming, bewildering and frightening.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: normal;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif;\">Despite their journeys to Scotland being so difficult, the enthusiasm and commitment our young people show as New Scots making their life here fills me with hope about the kind of country we are building, and the kind of country we want to be. During the recent Scottish Parliament election campaign, I co-chaired our ‘Speak Up!’ political hustings with Ahmad, one of our Guardianship young people (who kept cool as a cucumber while I fluffed my lines and accidentally talked over one of the candidates on the panel). It was heartening to hear all those politicians present voice their commitment to champion and protect the rights of unaccompanied children, and to make sure that Scotland remains a country that welcomes those seeking refuge and protection. \u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: normal;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif;\">We feel such pride in this version of Scotland as a welcoming place for many generations of New Scots to call home. But the recent violence and intimidation on our streets, amidst an increasingly hostile political climate, has left our young people feeling anxious and frightened. One of the young people at the hustings asked, “How will you advocate for and ensure protection of the rights of unaccompanied children in Scotland?” This should be the challenge to all of us, not just our politicians.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: normal;\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial;\">Now more than ever we must continue to show courage, to Be Brave, standing alongside and speaking up for those who find themselves the focus of hatred and abuse; calling out and challenging discrimination and prejudice\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003Cspan style=\"font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif;\">. Let’s be that version of Scotland where all unaccompanied children and young people feel safe and welcome, so they can live, learn and thrive.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-06-19T00:00:00.000000Z","media\u002FiStock-2148694425.jpg","2026-06-19T15:55:28.000000Z","2026-06-19T16:01:04.000000Z",{"id":27,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":28,"slug":29,"content":30,"content_overview":11,"published_at":31,"seo_title":28,"seo_description":32,"image":33,"created_at":34,"updated_at":35},"01kyj22d6hbfxjaexk6d4nxm5a","An open letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham","an-open-letter-to-prime-minister-andy-burnham","\u003Cp>Dear Prime Minister,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I would like to offer you our warmest congratulations from everyone at Aberlour Children’s Charity on becoming Prime Minister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I believe we share the same values of equality and social justice and the ambition to see an end to child poverty. I am sure you and your government will work hard to realise and embed these values for the benefit of children, young people and families in Scotland and across the UK. Ending child poverty is the first and most important thing any government must do to if it wants to create a fairer and more equal society.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the largest solely Scottish children's charity, our driving mission is to end child poverty and make sure that all families who need extra help get the support they need. An entire generation of children has been affected by the damage done by nearly two decades of austerity. This has had a profound impact on the levels of poverty and disadvantage we see at Aberlour every day, within the families we work with and the communities we serve. It is shocking and unacceptable that four million children across the UK are currently growing up in poverty. Children cannot wait any longer for real and sustained action to turn the tide on child poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As part of our mission, we aim to work with government at all levels, and with all political parties, to influence and shape legislation, policy and practice to improve the lives of Scotland’s most disadvantaged and marginalised children, young people and families. I am pleased to say that Aberlour has worked closely with the UK Government in recent years, for example contributing to the work of the Child Poverty Taskforce and the development of the Child Poverty Strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We long campaigned to see an end to the cruel two-child limit and enthusiastically welcomed the action taken by your predecessor to finally end such a harmful and discriminatory policy. However, that one, albeit important, action does not mean that child poverty has now been fixed. Your government must now go much further and faster, with clear and targeted actions that respond to the entrenched and often intersecting challenges in families’ lives, in order to lift children out of poverty for good. We are keen to work with you and your government to help achieve this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Listening to you speak in recent weeks, I have been particularly encouraged by your message of hope. We often hear from children and families at Aberlour of the hope they feel as a result of the help and support we are able to provide. It is a privilege to be part of the lives of our children and families, and to know that we can help to create hope, where too often there is hopelessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nonetheless, every day we work with families who have to make impossible choices of whether to put food on the table, pay their energy bills or provide adequate clothing for their children. This puts a massive stress on families and creates adversity that impacts on children’s education and learning, their social development and their mental and physical health and wellbeing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A significant consequence of the overwhelming financial strain that too many struggling families face is debt, and in particular public sector debt in the form of council tax debt, rent arrears and even school meal debt. Aberlour’s research and evidence over many years shows that public sector debt is a fundamental feature of child poverty, too often trapping children and families in poverty. We have described this as a public debt crisis. The State is the single biggest debt collector in the country frequently reducing, rather than increasing, the incomes of our poorest families through deductions from Universal Credit and other benefits or via other punitive debt recovery processes. This has to change if your government is truly committed to ending child poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since becoming Prime Minister, you have talked about giving families and households ‘breathing space’ by alleviating the financial pressures they are feeling. Aberlour has called on government at UK, Scottish and local levels to tackle the public debt crisis to help end child poverty, and we have illustrated a range of policy solutions to help ease the pressure of that public debt burden and help provide breathing space for so many families across the UK.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The effect of taking action to tackle public debt would not be to put more money in families’ pockets, but to keep money in families’ pockets for the things they need for their children to thrive. This means more money in local economies. It is not a binary choice between ending poverty or driving growth, we can do both at the same time. Ultimately, investment in social security and tackling child poverty is an investment in our communities, our citizens, our children and our shared future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At Aberlour we will continue to use our voice and influence to help secure the changes that our children, young people and families demand and deserve. To that end, I would be delighted to meet with you and relevant Cabinet colleagues and officials at the earliest opportunity to discuss our priorities further. We are also happy to organise visits and conversations with children, young people and families themselves whenever you visit Scotland. In doing so I hope we can work together to help achieve our shared ambitions to improve the lives of children, young people and families and to end child poverty for good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yours,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cbr>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003Cbr>Aberlour Chief Executive\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-07-27T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour CEO, Justina Murray, writes to the new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham asking him to go further and faster to end child poverty for good across the UK.","media\u002FJustina_Murray_Happy_beside window.jpg","2026-07-27T15:11:07.000000Z","2026-07-27T15:17:17.000000Z",{"id":37,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":38,"is_featured":7,"title":39,"slug":40,"content":41,"content_overview":11,"published_at":42,"seo_title":39,"seo_description":43,"image":44,"created_at":45,"updated_at":45},"01kvcykq7ztyr3rq1bxk0h7fnr","2","Leading Charities Demand Emergency Parliamentary Committee to Tackle Child Poverty","leading-charities-demand-emergency-parliamentary-committee-to-tackle-child-poverty","\u003Cp>A coalition of Scotland's leading children's charities and anti-poverty organisations has urged the Scottish Parliament to respond to the child poverty emergency by creating a dedicated joint committee, warning that greater parliamentary scrutiny is urgently needed if Scotland is to meet its legally binding child poverty targets. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The move comes ahead of this week’s annual Progress Report from the Scottish Government on its Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a joint letter sent to the Convenors of the Education & Gaelic Committee, Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, and Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Committee, the charities argue that child poverty should be treated as the Scottish Parliament's number one priority in the years leading up to the 2030\u002F31 statutory targets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The coalition includes Aberlour Children’s Charity, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fopfs.org.uk\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">One Parent Families Scotland\u003C\u002Fa>, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jrf.org.uk\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Joseph Rowntree Foundation\u003C\u002Fa> and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.savethechildren.org.uk\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Save the Children\u003C\u002Fa>, as well as the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.cypcs.org.uk\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The letter also calls for the establishment of a Scottish Parliament ‘People's Panel’ on ending child poverty, ensuring that children and families with direct experience of poverty can share their experiences to inform parliamentary scrutiny and help put policy into practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These calls come only weeks after a JRF analysis of the Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan found that it may not be compliant with the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 and could be open to judicial review.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray, Chief Executive of Aberlour, said:\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Having legally binding Child Poverty targets means little if we are not taking bold enough action to get there, and if our Parliament is not holding the Scottish Government to account on its efforts (or lack of) to meet those targets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Creating a dedicated Cross-Committee would send a powerful signal to Scotland’s children that our Parliament is fully committed to ensuring every possible action is being taken to end child poverty for good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Children and families must be at the heart of this work. A People’s Panel working alongside the Scottish Parliament would provide insight and solutions to Scotland’s child poverty emergency from those who understand it most.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The First Minister has repeatedly stated that it is his Government's number one priority to eradicate child poverty. It is the Parliament’s role to hold him to his word on behalf of Scotland’s children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Satwat Rehman, Chief Executive of One Parent Families Scotland, said:\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Single parent families are amongst those most likely to be living in poverty in Scotland, and the vast majority of single parents are women. Every month that passes without a credible plan to meet our statutory targets is another month in which children in these families bear the cost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We need more than good intentions from Parliament. A dedicated Cross-Committee would give MSPs the sustained focus this emergency demands, and the time to ask government the hard questions that a single committee, juggling competing priorities, simply doesn’t have space for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Single parents know better than anyone what poverty does to family life, and what would actually make a difference. A People’s Panel that puts their experience at the centre of scrutiny isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s essential if the solutions Parliament arrives at are going to work in the real world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland, Save The Children:\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Young people have told us that tackling child poverty is their top priority and families need action now. Parliament must play it’s part in making that happen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A dedicated joint committee would help hold the Scottish Government to account on its legally binding child poverty targets and help drive the scale and pace of action needed to meet them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A People’s Panel would ensure children, young people and families help shape the solutions that matter to them and make the biggest difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>Full Letter\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh3>\n\u003Cp>Karen Adam MSP, Convenor of Education & Gaelic Committee\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Katie Hagmann MSP, Convenor of Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Craig Hoy MSP, Convenor of Social Justice, Housing and Local Government Committee\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cbr>18th June 2026\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dear Convenors,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We are writing to you as a group of children’s charities and anti-poverty organisations with significant concerns about the progress being made towards meeting Scotland’s legally binding child poverty targets. As we embark on the seventh Scottish Parliamentary session since devolution, despite welcome commitments to end child poverty by successive First Ministers and very real progress in that time, Scotland remains a country where 1 in 5 children are growing up in poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Scottish Parliament plays the primary role in holding the Scottish Government to account on what we believe to be the most important policy commitment it can make – ending child poverty. Therefore, we are calling on you, as Convenors of those Parliamentary Committees which we believe must have a key focus on Scottish Government’s efforts to reduce child poverty and to meet the 2030\u002F31 targets, to come together to establish a Parliamentary Cross-Committee with a clear and undistracted focus on ending child poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We welcome the significant steps that have been taken by the Scottish Government to date to reduce the number of children and families living in poverty. Evidence shows the very real difference the Scottish Child Payment in particular is making in the lives of Scotland’s poorest families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, most recent child poverty statistics show this is still not enough. With over 200 000 children continuing to grow up in poverty, Scotland’s children and families deserve and demand much more. The Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026-31 simply does not show how it will meet Scotland’s statutory child poverty targets by 2030\u002F31. An analysis published earlier this month by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation indicates that the plan is arguably not compliant with the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 and is potentially open to successful judicial review.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Scottish Government has been presented with this analysis, and we have called on the First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government to provide an updated and more ambitious child poverty delivery plan that does meet the demands of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We believe there is more the Scottish Parliament could do to hold the Scottish Government to account and to help maximise efforts to reach Scotland’s child poverty targets. Parliament has the power to ensure that government is making every effort to reach those targets and lift as many children and families out of poverty as it can. Children have a right to grow up and live free from poverty, and Parliament, as well as government, has a duty to uphold that right through ensuring that legislation and policy in Scotland is consistent with duties contained within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The First Minister has repeatedly stated it is his government's number one priority to “eradicate child poverty”. We believe, therefore, that scrutiny of whether or not that ambition is met, or that at the very least every effort possible to do so is being exerted, should equally be reflected as the number one priority of the Scottish Parliament. In our view, oversight of the ‘national mission to eradicate child poverty’ in this crucial period between now and 2030\u002F31 requires more attention than it will otherwise receive sitting within a broader programme of work of a single Parliamentary committee with multiple and competing priorities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The commitment to end child poverty is a shared one, unanimously supported by all Parliamentary parties at the passing of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, and restated by the majority of Parliamentary parties in manifestos and during this year’s Scottish Parliament election. We believe a Cross-Committee working closely together with shared oversight and scrutiny would demonstrate the cross portfolio and urgent nature of ending child poverty, as well as provide a clearer structure and mechanism for accountability that reflects the vital role that Parliament has to play in helping make Scotland a country where no child grows up in poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is vital that the voices of children and families are central to shaping how Scotland responds to the impact of poverty on children, families and communities, and in making sure that policy solutions reflect what they tell us will make difference in their lives. Therefore, we also ask that the Scottish Parliament considers establishing a People’s Panel on ending child poverty. This would ensure that, beyond the formal structures and processes of committees, children and families can directly inform and influence the work of the proposed Cross-Committee and the broader work of the Scottish Parliament on ending child poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We are happy to meet with you to explore this further and discuss how the Scottish Parliament can work alongside civil society organisations, like ours, to make sure Scotland spares no effort in lifting children and families out of poverty for good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This must be the Parliament where we prioritise ending child poverty above all else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We have copied this letter to each of the named Committee Convenors and corresponding Committee Clerks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yours\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cbr>Justina Murray, CEO, Aberlour Children’s Charity\u003Cbr>Michele Janes, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland\u003Cbr>Claire Burns, Director, CELCIS\u003Cbr>John Dickie, Director for Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group\u003Cbr>Nicola Killean, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland\u003Cbr>Judith Turbyne, CEO, Children in Scotland\u003Cbr>Mary Glasgow, CEO, Children First\u003Cbr>Kaushik Mistry. Executive Director, Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights\u003Cbr>Nancy Louks, CEO, Families Outside\u003Cbr>Laura Millar, CEO, Gingerbread Fife\u003Cbr>Eliza Waye, Strategic Lead for Scotland, Home-Start UK\u003Cbr>Louise Hunter, CEO, Includem\u003Cbr>Sabine Goodwin, Director, Independent Food Aid Network\u003Cbr>Chris Birt, Associate Director for Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland, Joseph Rowntree Foundation\u003Cbr>Satwat Rehman, CEO, One Parent Families Scotland\u003Cbr>Amy Woodhouse, CEO, Parenting Across Scotland\u003Cbr>Peter Kelly, CEO, Poverty Alliance\u003Cbr>Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland, Save the Children\u003Cbr>Mandy Morgan, CEO, The Scottish Pantry Network.\u003Cbr>Sara Cowan, Director, Scottish Women’s Budget Group\u003Cbr>Cara Hilton, Senior Policy & Public Affairs Manager (Scotland), Trussell\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-06-18T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity and 21 other organisations have written to the Education & Gaelic, Equalities & Human Rights and Social Justice Committees to call for a joint Scottish Parliamentary committee on ending child poverty.","media\u002Fshutterstock_559526095.jpg","2026-06-18T08:47:22.000000Z"]