Poverty is devastating. It puts children’s education, health and life chances on the line. More than four million children are living in poverty in the UK. That’s nine kids in an average classroom of 30. This isn’t right, and it doesn’t have to be like this.
Parents need support to provide for their children with security and without constant worry. Imagine the UK without any child poverty – a country with all children well fed and housed, feeling secure, and growing up healthy and confident.
CPAG in Scotland’s Early Warning System has been operating for ten years! Over Challenge Poverty Week we are looking back at some of the social security events in this period, key findings from the Early Warning System and how they have influenced policy and practise.
John Dickie's blog calls on the First Minister must use her Programme for Government to continue to do the right thing, and prioritise protecting children from the immediate cost of living crisis, at the same time as safeguarding the longer term progress needed to meet Scotland’s statutory child poverty targets.
Our response to the Scottish Government's consultation on Housing to 2040 highlights the role housing can play in tackling child poverty and the interaction between social security and people's ability to pay their housing costs.