Our social security system, like our NHS, should be there for us all, especially those who need it most. It needs updating, so it works in today’s world. By the time it is fully rolled out, half of all children in the UK will live in a household claiming universal credit (UC). With some financial investment and operational changes, UC can be the safety net that families need.
Children and young people from the Cost of the School Day Voice network call for Universal Free School Meals (USFM) at a Scottish Parliament roundtable.
A change is coming to child benefit. This Saturday, more families will become eligible as the earnings threshold at which you start losing child benefit increases. The government has finally recognised that ‘the way we treat child benefit in the tax system is confusing and unfair’ and proposed two changes to try to simplify it. It’s ironic that this confusion and unfairness was introduced by the government in the first place.
South Lanarkshire Council’s Cost of the School Day Conference took place this week, where the local authority further cemented its commitment to equity by launching its Cost of the School Day guidance, and ten proposals.
There was very little in this Budget for children and families living in poverty. The Chancellor said yesterday that this government does not pass on its bills to the next generation, but the 4.2 million children living in poverty today are the next generation. Child poverty is scarring, and the decisions taken yesterday will leave a legacy of cold homes, empty tummies and crumbling classrooms. We are in urgent need of a plan to tackle child poverty.
For almost fifteen years, the four million kids from poor families have been at the bottom of the pile and today is no different. This was a Budget all but blind to buckling family budgets and broken public services and will leave a legacy of crumbling classrooms, cold homes, and empty tummies.
Our pre-Budget briefing details how best to invest financial support in children to reduce child poverty and give every child the chance to fulfil their potential.
It was great to gather so many Cost of the School Day Voice network members together at one time, with more than 500 young people from across Scotland joining the first Big Meet Up online sessions.
High inflation pushed the cost of raising a child to £166,000 for a couple and £220,000 for a lone parent in 2023 but the enduring impact of benefit cuts and ongoing price rises have left many parents unable to give their children what the public says is a minimum acceptable living standard, new research shows.