Our response to the Scottish Government’s announcement on the new income supplement
SallyAnn Kelly, CEO of Aberlour, said:
“Today’s announcement by the Scottish Government on the introduction of the new Scottish Child Payment of £10 per child per week is a welcome one, and we are pleased the government have heard and listened to the many organisations, campaigners and those with experience of poverty who collectively called for this. Introducing this new payment early for families with children aged 6 and under by 2020/21 is an important step towards improving the lives of the 240,000 children in Scotland living in poverty right now. We know the single biggest thing that will help lift struggling families out of poverty is to make sure they have more money in their pockets and this new payment will provide a vital lifeline to many families, as well as help prevent against the associated toxic stress and consequential adversity we see effecting families across Scotland every day. This new payment is not a silver bullet to fix child poverty, but it is a significant start.”
This announcement has been made as earlier this week 70 leaders and organisations from across Scottish society joined together to call on the First Minister to speed up the introduction of a new income supplement to tackle child poverty.