Young people demand more action on child poverty at the Scottish Parliament

Young people from the Voice network took their calls to the Scottish Parliament yesterday with the End Child Poverty coalition, demanding that the Scottish Government honours its promise to tackle child poverty.

Voice members call to do more on poverty

Brooke, Mollie, Caitlin, Erin, Ava, Christina and Orla from Trinity High School in South Lanarkshire said that:

"We are here today to represent the young people throughout Scotland struggling to meet the unfair cost of a good education. We think the Scottish Government should provide more support in schools to help end child poverty like free food and help with school transport. We're here to support young people around Scotland who don't have a say in these things about child poverty because it's real and it's happening and it shouldn't be.”

As the Scottish Parliament reconvened after the summer and the Programme for Government was launched, Voice network members joined other young people and End Child Poverty organisations.  

The group attended First Minister’s Questions, created an artwork outlining why decisive action on poverty is important to them and met Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing. She discussed Cost of the School Day work with young people from Trinity High School, and some of the topics they are particularly passionate about, such as the Secondary Free School Meals expansion pilot that worked well in their school but has now ended. Afterwards the Trinity High School group said:

“I think it was good for all of us to get to meet with her because it shows her it’s personal, and not just like another adult telling her, it's coming from actual children so it maybe shows her how passionate we all are about it."

Child poverty raised at First Minister's Questions

The First Minister highlighted existing action on child poverty, including resources attached to the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan and commitment to whole family support to complement the Scottish Child Payment which, he said, is: 

“... delivering, or is contributing to delivering, a lower level of child poverty in Scotland than there is in the rest of the United Kingdom.” 

However, Mr Swinney said that his government had no plans to increase the level of the Scottish Child Payment.

What young people thought

Afterwards the group from Trinity High School, who had met the First Minister at last year's Cost of the School Day Summit and been impressed by his commitment to tackling child poverty, reflected on his response to their question in the chamber.

"I feel that he kind of more dismissed it there and was saying that he was already doing enough when really it’s not enough.”

However, everyone from Trinity High felt it had been good to be at the Parliament to see First Minister’s Questions:

“I think it was really great just to get to see that kind of environment because we've never really experienced that before, and I think it was good to hear our question get answered.”

CPAG organised this event alongside partners in the End Child Poverty (ECP) Coalition. ECP welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty, and the progress made in recent years. As Scotland is not on track to meet its statutory child poverty targets however, the coalition and young people at today’s event are calling for further action. 

At the end of their day at the Scottish Parliament, the group from Trinity High School said:

“There shouldn't be kids in poverty at all. So I think if there is any percentage, and it still is pretty high, we could make it lower. We should never stop fighting against poverty until there's nothing left to fight against.”

Child poverty question in full

Full text of Parliamentary question from Holly Bruce MSP of the Scottish Greens:

"Today children, children’s charities and anti poverty organisations have come to their parliament to tell us what poverty and debt means for them. They’re asking us to act faster and go further. Can the First Minister say how he will, in his words, eradicate child poverty in this parliamentary session. And will he commit to putting more money in our poorest families pockets by increasing the Scottish Child Payment?

 

With this in mind can I ask the First Minister how he plans to, in his words, “eradicate child poverty” over the course of this Parliamentary session? And in order to achieve this, will he commit to putting more money in our poorest families’ pockets by increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £55 per week to all low income families, as the Scottish Greens, children’s charities and anti-poverty organisations, including the End Child Poverty coalition, have called on him to do, by the end of this Parliament?"