Responding to the First Minister’s Statement on ‘Priorities for Scotland’ John Dickie, Director of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), said “First Minister’s commitment must be backed by concrete policies and investment on a scale well beyond what we heard today”
‘It’s good to hear that ending child poverty is central for Labour, but the best way to achieve that is by ending the two-child limit on benefits which is driving so many children into hardship. A child poverty reduction plan is essential, but scrapping the two-child limit would have to be step one.'
Speaking today (Tuesday 07/05/24) following the Scottish Parliament’s nomination of John Swinney as Scotland’s next First Minister, John Dickie, Director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, said, “It is hugely encouraging that the incoming First Minister has already said he will make child poverty his number one priority. For the one in four children still locked in hardship that pledge needs to be acted on, and fast.
With child poverty at a record high, the prime minister has now clearly decided that making kids poor is his political priority. After covid and the cost of living crisis, struggling families need a helping hand not another kick in the teeth.
The Prime Minister must know he can’t scare people into good health, but his words this morning will be chilling for low-income families up and down the country who rely on our social security system for help.
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.
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.