As we find out who Scotland’s new First Minister will be. What will this mean for action to end child poverty? Whatever people’s views of her wider legacy there should be no doubt Nicola Sturgeon has made huge progress putting in place the building blocks needed to end the scourge of child poverty in Scotland.
Who is experiencing fuel poverty? What is the relationship between fuel poverty and income? And what is the impact of the mitigations put in place to support people with rising energy costs?
Today’s annual poverty statistics show an estimated 350,000 more children were pulled into poverty last year, largely because the Government cut the £20 universal credit (UC) uplift half-way through the year. New CPAG analysis shows child poverty costs the country £39.5 billion a year.
The cost of child poverty extends beyond the physical and emotional hardship felt by children growing up in low-income families. In 2008, the total financial cost was estimated to be at least £25 billion a year. In 2023, it has risen to over £39 billion a year.
Official Scottish government poverty statistics show 250,000 children (24% of all children) were still living in poverty in Scotland in the period 2019 to 2022
Many of the childcare changes announced are a big step forward and also create opportunities for the Scottish government to go further and faster with its currently more generous and fairer universal childcare offer. But the stringent UK job-search requirements for parents on universal credit (UC) are concerning and overall the package is far short of what struggling families needed as they face another year of high inflation.
Our response to the Budget: Some of the Chancellor’s plans are welcome but some are worrying. Many of the childcare changes announced are a big step forward but the stringent job-search requirements for parents on universal credit (UC) are concerning and overall the package is far short of what struggling families needed from the Chancellor as they face another year of high inflation.
CPAG has published a new benefits and mental health handbook to help people who might be going through some of the most difficult times in their lives.
School governors, head teachers, PTAs and others working in schools have written to the Chancellor urging him to increase child benefit and expand free school meals eligibility to reduce the impact of poverty and hardship on children and on schools. The open letter says schools increasingly see children finding it harder to learn because of inadequate family incomes.