Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan published by Scottish Government

Date: 24th April 2018
Category: Child poverty

Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland have welcomed the publication of the Scottish Government's first statutory child poverty delivery plan under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act.

The Delivery Plan sets out the actions Scottish Government will take to ensure the targets set out in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act are achieved. These actions include:

  • Investment in new, intensive employment support for parents;
  • Increased funding for the Workplace Equality Fund;
  • Minimum payment for the School Clothing Grant across Scotland;
  • New support for childcare after school and in the school holidays;
  • A new income supplement;
  • A new Best Start Grant.

As well as the above, the Plan sets out various other actions that will be taken to improve the lives of children and young people's across a wide range of outcomes.

John Dickie, Director of CPAG in Scotland, said:

"Today's launch of the first child poverty delivery plan under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act is a really welcome step on the road to a Scotland free of child poverty. It rightly includes measures to support parental employment and reduce the costs that struggling families face. Particularly welcome is the commitment to introduce an income supplement to help boost family finances."

"It's vital that swift progress is now made to deliver on the new income supplement promise. The options for topping up financial support for families are clear. Its time now for immediate action and investment, not further deliberations. A £5 a week top up to child benefit would, for example, lift up to 30 000 children out of poverty. Every week that passes sees more children pushed into poverty as UK welfare reforms hack away at the value of the vital support that families in and out of work rely on. A step change in the scale of investment here in Scotland is now needed to avert the government's own horrendous projection of a future where 2 in every 5 children are living in poverty by 2030."