Action taken to tackle child poverty to be outlined at Holyrood

26 June 2019, 06:50

A report on the progress made towards tackling child poverty in Scotland will be made at Holyrood.

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell will update MSPs on Wednesday about the action taken by the Scottish Government to meet its poverty targets, which were set out in 2017.

As part of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill passed in February of that year, targets were set that by 2030 less than 10% of children living in Scottish households should be living in relative poverty.

It also set out that less than 5% should be living in absolute poverty, less than 5% should be living with combined low income and material deprivation and less than 5% should be living in persistent poverty.

The Act also set a requirement for Scottish ministers to publish child poverty delivery plans at regular intervals, with annual reports to measure progress.

Analysis by the Scottish Government outlines it has invested more than £500 million in the last year alone to support low-income families across a wide range of policy areas.

The Scottish Government added it has spent more than £125 million to mitigate the impact of UK austerity.

Speaking ahead of the statement on Wednesday, Aileen Campbell said: "As the only country in the UK with ambitious income-based targets to eradicate child poverty, Scotland is firm in the belief that we can do better, and we will.

"That is why today I will set out to Parliament the progress we have made in the past year on child poverty and our next steps."

She added: "Our actions stretch right across Government to help people on low incomes at every stage of life.

"From new devolved benefits offering support during pregnancy through to starting school, promoting the real living wage and ensuring everyone has a warm, secure place to call home we have a concerted and clear strategy.

"It is a long-term commitment to the people in Scotland who need the help the most."