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Scotland still has a path to meeting its statutory child poverty targets but it will be “challenging”, the Social Justice Secretary has said. Shirley-Anne Somerville was speaking after statistics released on Thursday showed 260,000 children - 26 per cent - were living in relative poverty in Scotland in 2022-23. That was up by about 30,000 from the previous year , after housing costs. It led to child poverty campaigners reiterating their calls for the Scottish Government to increase the Scottish child payment to £40 per week, up from £25 currently and £26.70 from April. Somerville told
BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Friday: “We do think we can meet our statutory poverty targets, they will undoubtedly be challenging.” Read More Related Articles Stephen Flynn demands
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WhatsApp row It was put to her that the Fraser of Allander Institute has said Scotland is not on track to meet the interim child poverty target of 18% for 2023/24. The legally-set target is to reduce relative child poverty to 10 per cent by 2030. Somerville continued: “They are challenging, I’ve absolutely no doubt within that. “But we do have a credible path to be able to meet those targets. “That’s because of the £3 billion worth of expenditure that we have.” She said the Scottish Government will do everything it can in the powers and budget it has to tackle child poverty, but she claimed the UK Government is continuing to “push people into poverty”. Recent increases in the Scottish child payment demonstrate how seriously the Scottish Government takes the issue, she said. Scottish politics Health boards blow millions on taxis
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protests SNP lost thousands of members in 2023 Matheson urged to reject pay-out Nicola Killean, the Children and Young People’s Commissioner, said: “There’s a lot of concern that those targets won’t be hit and I think figures are a call to action. “More has to be done by the UK and Scottish governments.” She agreed with calls to increase the Scottish child payment further, but said governments must look at “multiple levers” to deal with child poverty. To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here . Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Follow Daily Record
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