End Child Poverty Letter to First Minister Ahead of Autumn Budget Announcement
28 Nov 2023
Aberlour and another 100 organisations, charities, trade unions and faith groups are part of The End Child Poverty Coalition. We are all dedicated to alleviating and ending child poverty in the UK.
Today (Tuesday 28th November 2023) we have co-signed a letter to the Scottish First Minister, Humza Yousaf, urging him to use the forthcoming budget take substantial action to end child poverty in Scotland.
We are calling on the Scottish Government to:
- Build on existing investment in the Scottish Child Payment by increasing this to at least £30 in this Budget, as committed to by the First Minister during the SNP leadership election, with a view to reaching £40 by the end of this parliament.
- Apply a robust test across the entire Scottish Budget: will this meaningfully support Scotland’s child poverty ambitions?
Specific investment should include:
- Bolstering the wider income supports provided to children in low-income households, such as Best Start grants, ensuring – at the very least – they retain their real terms value.
- Ensuring the Scottish Welfare Fund is adequate and accessible, at a time of rising need – including deepening food insecurity – fuelled by acute income crises.
- Delivering on the Scottish Government’s commitment to invest in holistic whole-family support.
- Mitigations for those affected by the punitive Two Child Limit and the Young Parent Penalty via top ups or additional payments for those unfairly affected.
- Deliver on the commitment to fully roll out Free School Meals to Primary 6 and Primary 7 in the next financial year (not waiting until 2026).
- Helping parents to increase income from employment, through increasing quality and accessible funded childcare, investing in person-centred employability support, and embedding child poverty focused labour market policies, including fair work. This is particularly important for women, who are more likely to be primary caregivers and account for the majority of single parents.
- Supporting migrant children, caregivers and providing additional support for priority families.
Read the letter and End Child Poverty Coalition briefing document to find out more.