Child poverty campaigners welcome Scottish budget two-child limit mitigation

Responding to today’s Budget statement by the Finance Secretary, John Dickie, Director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, said:

“The Finance Secretary is absolutely right to mitigate the two-child limit in the absence of abolition at UK level. It’s a pernicious policy that pushes 15,000 children into poverty in Scotland alone. Investing in social security for families is key to delivering on the First Minister's number one priority of eradicating child poverty. The devil will be in the detail and families really can't wait until 2026 to see their incomes boosted, so an above inflation increase to the Scottish child payment is still needed in the meantime. But there is no question this is the right focus for prioritising spend. We need the UK government take the same approach to investing in family benefits as a matter of utmost urgency”

Ends

CPAG along with other members of the End Child Poverty coalition pre-Budget briefing called for

  1. At the very least, an above inflation increase to the Scottish Child Payment and a commitment to raising it to £40 within the lifetime of this parliament.
  2. Mitigate the impact of the UK-wide two-child limit in Scotland until the UK Government abolishes this harmful policy at source
  3. Resource to deliver on the commitment to fully roll out free school meals to all Primary 6 and Primary 7 pupils in the next financial year and to extend eligibility to secondary school pupils in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment
  4. Fully fund and invest in expanding the childcare and employability commitments set out in the Best Start, Bright Futures child poverty delivery plan