WHO report provides "brutal example" of Scotland's child poverty shame

Responding to today’s World Health Organisation report highlighting massively unequal life chances within Scotland, the Head of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, John Dickie, today said ;

“This report provides a brutal example of the damage poverty and inequality does to children’s life chances. It is completely unacceptable that in 21st century Scotland, in one of the richest countries in the world, that a child’s life expectancy can be so undermined by the circumstances they are born into.

"As the WHO report makes clear there is nothing inevitable about this situation. The last ten years have seen real progress in tackling child poverty in the UK, but action has not gone nearly far enough. The Chancellor must invest the £3 billion urgently needed to boost child benefits and tax credits, whilst Government at Holyrood and Westminster must do far more to tackle the poverty pay and lack of affordable childcare that undermines work as a route out of poverty.

"CPAG urges all those who want to see an end to this scandal to visit www.endchildpoverty.org.uk and sign up to the demand for Government to ‘Keep the Promise’ and halve child poverty by 2010.”

Media contacts:
John Dickie, Head of CPAG in Scotland on 0141 552 3656 mobile 07795 340 618

Notes for editors

• CPAG is one of over 100 member organisations of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, campaigning for public and political commitment to ensure the goals of halving child poverty by 2010 and ending child poverty by 2020 are met.
• For details of the WHO report http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2008/pr29/en/