[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f10b3rz2z388kj":3,"$f3dx7aypht8rit":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":5,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":18,"slug":19,"content":20,"content_overview":11,"published_at":21,"seo_title":18,"seo_description":22,"image":23,"created_at":24,"updated_at":25,"next":26,"prev":35},"01kk9e9ar2atrjv2szb7p085rt","Treat Children Seeking Sanctuary like every other","treat-children-seek-sanctuary-like-every-other","\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Party leaders urged to secure the safety of young asylum seekers\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003Cbr> \u003Cbr>Young refugees seeking sanctuary in Scotland endure a postcode lottery of care and protection, according to leading charities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour Children’s Charity and the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fscottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scottish Refugee Council\u003C\u002Fa> have joined forces \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fpublications\u002Fprotecting-the-rights-of-unaccompanied-asylum-seeking-children\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to call on the next Scottish Parliament\u003C\u002Fa> to guarantee the rights of young unaccompanied asylum seekers while warning some are still enduring needless stress and uncertainty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The charities, jointly delivering lifeline support to young refugees through the Guardianship Scotland service, spoke out before the looming Holyrood election to urge party leaders and candidates to deliver safety and security for every young person arriving in Scotland alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More than 1,000 children are being cared for in Scotland after arriving in the UK unaccompanied with up to 400 new referrals to the service every year. Some are fleeing war, famine or persecution while others have been trafficked across borders by crime gangs. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The charities have called on the new MSPs to ensure every young asylum seeker is treated like any other child in need of care while their asylum applications are considered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every one must be treated as a “looked after” child within Scotland’s care system, according to the charities, guaranteeing help from local authorities, including care plans and other protections.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justina Murray, chief executive of Aberlour, warned the treatment of young asylum seekers can vary across councils with some becoming trapped in a “grey area” between immigration authorities and social work services.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Young people arriving alone to seek safe shelter in Scotland deserve the same chance of a stable home and secure future as any other child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The decisions taken in their first weeks and months here can often shape their future for years to come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Many are given the care and support they need, and go to school, make friends, build happy, successful lives and contribute to their new communities. Some, sadly, are not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our new MSPs should help ensure every young unaccompanied person seeking asylum in Scotland is seen first through the lens of child protection not immigration control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They deserve certainty and stability as quickly as possible so they do not remain in limbo as they approach adulthood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Scottish ministers have vowed to implement The Promise intended to transform the lives of care experienced children and, according to Aberlour and the Scottish Refugee Council, young asylum seekers deserve the same protection and support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Sabir Zazi, chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council, said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Children and young people coming to Scotland in search of safety deserve exactly the same support as any other child in need of care who lives here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Promise is to all children in need of care, including those arriving from overseas without their family.  If we believe in children’s rights, those rights must apply regardless of immigration status.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>The charities are calling on MSPs to engage with Westminster to ensure the rights of unaccompanied children are secured; deliver more funding to allow councils to better respond to their needs; publish clearer national guidance on their rights; improve recording of data to identify gaps or discrimination; and ensure age assessments are swift and fair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Graeme Marshall, service manager of Guardianship Scotland, said the frontline support service helps young unaccompanied asylum seekers navigate a complex and potentially bewildering immigration system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>He said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>We are not their voice, but we make sure their voice is heard. We help ensure all the different agencies involved in their care and immigration status are seeing a child not a case file.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Treating them as children first is not a radical demand but a simple request for respect, compassion, and decency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Read Aberlour and the Scottish Refugee Council's calls to all polictical parties ahead of the Scottish Parliament Election to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fpublications\u002Fprotecting-the-rights-of-unaccompanied-asylum-seeking-children\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">protect the rights of unaccompanied asylum-Seeking children\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-03-09T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children’s Charity and the Scottish Refugee Council have joined forces to call on the next Scottish Parliament to guarantee the rights of young unaccompanied asylum seekers while warning some are still enduring needless stress and uncertainty.","media\u002FiStock-1481631850.jpg","2026-03-09T13:58:47.000000Z","2026-03-09T15:59:40.000000Z",{"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":34},"01kkgx8csqtwzwackj7y0akqp8","Aberlour's response to continued investment from the Scottish Government for our Mother and Child Recovery Houses","aberlours-response-to-continued-investment-from-the-scottish-government-for-our-mother-and-child-recovery-houses","\u003Cp>“We are thrilled to receive confirmation of the continued investment of almost £2m to sustain our Mother and Child Recovery Houses in \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fservice\u002Fmother-and-child-recovery-houses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dundee\u003C\u002Fa> and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fservice\u002Fmother-and-child-recovery-house-falkirk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Falkirk\u003C\u002Fa> for the next year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Our Mother and Child Recovery Houses support mothers affected by alcohol and drug use and their babies\u002Fyoung children. We work with mothers to abstain or stabilise their substance use, prevent deaths, keep families together and truly flourish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Families consistently tell us that our services are making a meaningful difference, giving a future of hope and the evidence backs this up. By placing relationships at the heart of our work, emphasising strengths and prioritising the needs of mothers and their children, we are helping families to heal and to stay together wherever it is safe to do so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With The Promise guiding everything we do, we provide vital recovery support for mothers and their babies, empowering them to regain control of their lives and build a more secure and brighter future. Our approach ensures that the rights, voices and needs of both mums and babies are respected and heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank you to the Scottish Government for their continued investment in the Mother and Child Recovery Houses. This support is helping us reach mothers and babies who need us most and is already making a significant difference to families across Scotland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We look forward to working with the Scottish Government, politicians and our partners towards longer term investment in Recovery services across Scotland, so that every mother and child who needs this level of support can access it, no matter where they live and for however long they need it\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I would also like to note our heartfelt thanks to Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, who has worked tirelessly to champion the needs of families harmed by substance use, and to help secure this investment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Aberlour CEO \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:  \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>\"Aberlour's work in mother and child recovery is world leading, I got to see exactly what that means when I visited several mums and their babies firsthand at their recovery house. Seeing the impact that they can make on such vulnerable lives convinced me that the Lib Dems should make funding for their perinatal community recovery services a red line in our budget negotiations with the SNP. I'm so glad we won that fight and convinced the government to fund these vital services.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>","2026-03-12T00:00:00.000000Z","Read Aberlour Children's Charity CEO, Justina Murray's response to continued investment in our Mother and Child Recovery Houses from the Scottish Government.","media\u002FJustina Murray_Happy_RS1296_0E5A9849.jpg","2026-03-12T11:35:06.000000Z",{"id":36,"blog_author_id":5,"blog_category_id":6,"is_featured":7,"title":37,"slug":38,"content":39,"content_overview":11,"published_at":40,"seo_title":41,"seo_description":42,"image":43,"created_at":44,"updated_at":45},"01kjajvqb2j0d8gde5kdk0fdm1","Aberlour rushes £500,000 of lifeline payments to families","aberlour-rushes-ps500000-of-lifeline-payments-to-families","\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Aberlour promises emergency support is only the start\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lifeline payments delivered by a leading charity have helped pull more than 1000 families from the brink of financial crisis in just four weeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour Children’s Charity said £500,000 of crisis cash has eased immediate financial pressure on 1072 families, supporting almost 2000 children, since January while helping build foundations for a more secure future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The money was part of a £10million package announced by the Scottish Government to be shared between charities and government agencies providing emergency financial support to ease child poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Justina Murray, chief executive of Aberlour, said the extra funding for the charity’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aberlour.org.uk\u002Fget-help\u002Furgent-assistance-fund\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Urgent Assistance Fund\u003C\u002Fa> (UAF) has provided short-term help but has been an opportunity to underpin the stability and security of families.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>She said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Our immediate priority was to ensure every pound of this funding was used most effectively to help families facing financial catastrophe right now. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These payments must avert financial crisis in the very short-term but can also, importantly, help families stabilise and find their feet again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This money is a lifeline but remains only short-term relief and, when today’s emergency is averted, we must offer practical, life-changing support for families tomorrow and the days after that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our frontline teams and partners have made an extraordinary effort to ensure the extra money awarded by the Scottish Government has had maximum impact but crisis care is not enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As a country, we must do more to raise our families out of poverty for good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>Aberlour, delivering frontline support for families across Scotland, is calling on party leaders and candidates in the looming Scottish Parliament elections to prioritise ending child poverty by backing policies including the strengthening of Scotland’s social security system and an immediate increase to the Scottish Child Payment to at least £40 per week and rising to £55 by 2031.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The charity, which will invite candidates to a hustings for young people during the campaign, is also urging newly-elected MSPs to overhaul the collection of public debt, such as council tax and rent arrears, which, it warns, is far too harsh on Scotland’s most disadvantaged families, with some debt recovery systems helping trap children in poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost £164,000 of the extra funding for Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund, announced by ministers in January, has helped relieve debt with the rest being awarded in crisis payments and top-up grants. The money, delivered within days of applications being approved, has eased financial pressure on 1072 families, supporting 3299 individuals, including 1958 children.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emergency grants have helped ease household financial crises across Scotland last year but, most, almost £220,000 (42 per cent), has been delivered in Glasgow.  Research last year revealed child poverty is still rising in Scotland’s biggest city where one in four young people - 25,690 young Glaswegians, 26 per cent of the city’s children - are living in families where income is below 40 per cent of the national median.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since 2021, the charity, delivering frontline care and support for families and children, has distributed more than £3million from the fund with the majority of applicants seeking help to buy food, clothing and heating. The average payment was £236 last year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Justina Murray, who joined Aberlour, one of Scotland’s most influential charities, last year, said: \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>These payments are relatively small, a few hundred pounds, but can mean children will not go to bed cold or to school hungry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Many families are living from pound to pound and a single unexpected bill, for a broken washing machine or bedding damaged by damp, can topple them into crisis.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our teams offer a whole range of practical assistance and emotional support but, at times of absolute need, families require money most urgently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These crisis payments can literally keep the lights on for families and give them a chance, with our support, to find a more solid footing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp>The emergency funding became available after First Minister John Swinney confirmed £10 million originally earmarked to support the two-child limit mitigation payment in Scotland would be reallocated to tackling child poverty.\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-02-26T00:00:00.000000Z","Aberlour Children's Charity rushes £500,000 of lifeline payments to families","Lifeline payments delivered by Aberlour Children's Charity have helped pull more than 1000 families from the brink of financial crisis in just four weeks through the Aberlour Urgent Assistance Fund.","media\u002FiStock-1011762782.jpg","2026-02-25T14:22:16.000000Z","2026-02-26T09:30:32.000000Z"]