Today’s official poverty statistics show child poverty has reached a record high with an estimated 100,000 more children pulled into poverty last year.
Rising child poverty across rest of UK suggests Scottish policies are helping families but campaigners say new data must act as a “stark reminder” more is needed to meet legally binding child poverty targets.
Campaigners at the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland are calling for tax and spending decisions to do more to prioritise hard up families ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish budget.
Parents typically need to find at least £39 per week for a child’s secondary school education and £19 for a primary-aged child, research for Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) finds.
Today’s annual poverty statistics show an estimated 350,000 more children were pulled into poverty last year, largely because the Government cut the £20 universal credit (UC) uplift half-way through the year. New CPAG analysis shows child poverty costs the country £39.5 billion a year.
Official Scottish government poverty statistics show 250,000 children (24% of all children) were still living in poverty in Scotland in the period 2019 to 2022
School governors, head teachers, PTAs and others working in schools have written to the Chancellor urging him to increase child benefit and expand free school meals eligibility to reduce the impact of poverty and hardship on children and on schools. The open letter says schools increasingly see children finding it harder to learn because of inadequate family incomes.
Over 70 charities, unions, faith groups, health professionals and social policy experts have joined forces today to call on the SNP leadership contenders to keep child poverty a top government priority if they become First Minister.