A proposal for a Public Sector Debt Recovery (Scotland) Bill

Low-income families face a significant debt crisis in Scotland. Public debt, including council tax payments, water and sewage charges, arrears for social rented sector tenancies and school meal debt, traps families in poverty.

With Govan Law Centre we're calling on legal reform to tackle the public debt crisis in Scotland.

The current public debt recovery processes are in need of reform to provide support rather than trap indebted families within cycles of poverty in Scotland. The primary policy objective of the proposed Bill is to alleviate the debt burden on disadvantaged families, enabling them to thrive and repay their debts without exacerbating child poverty. The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 establishes child poverty reduction targets to be met by 2030; the aim of the proposed Bill is to contribute to a reduction in Scottish child poverty.

Read about our proposed Public Sector Debt Recovery (Scotland) Bill. 

The proposed Bill would ensure public debt reform was a key focus of the Scottish Government’s child poverty strategy and assist in driving down poverty levels for those on low incomes.