FM: Scotland is determined to end child poverty

First Minister John Swinney today heard from partners in the third sector, local government and academia to inform the Scottish Government's work to end child poverty.

Speaking after the meeting in Glasgow, the First Minister said that eradicating child poverty remained his government's top priority – and called on the UK Chancellor to take equally urgent action in the UK Budget later this month.

The First Minister said:

“In Scotland we have a shared, collective mission to end the scourge of child poverty once and for all. I have been greatly encouraged by my discussions with representatives from the charity sector, those working in public services and indeed everyone with valuable insight into the issues facing many families.

“I welcome their input and believe that we are making real progress by coming together in this way – and we will continue to collaborate as we develop our next Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan.

“We have made good progress – with child poverty in Scotland 9 percentage points lower than in the rest of the UK.  But we know there is more to do, and the time to act is now.

“I commit that my government will continue to do everything we possibly can to bring child poverty down even further.  But I am also calling on the Chancellor Rachel Reeves to match Scotland's ambition in the Budget later this month – the UK Government must take similar action and demonstrate that it is serious about ending child poverty.

“For too long, successive UK governments have taken decisions that have made child poverty worse, not better – I am calling on them to finally do the right thing and play their part in ensuring not a single child has to endure the hardships of poverty.”

Background

Organisations represented at the meeting include: