The SNP has said that Rachel Reeves should match the Scottish Child Payment UK-wide, after research from the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) found that child poverty rates in Scotland have fallen compared to the rest of the UK.
According to the CPAG, child poverty fell in Scotland, with the three-year average poverty rate falling in Scotland from 24% to 23% – with the latest one-year data showing a fall from 26% to 22%.
Meanwhile in England it has risen from 30% to 31%, from 23% to 24% in Northern Ireland, and from 29% to 31% in Wales
The CPAG states that “the key reason for this divergence is the introduction of the Scottish Child Payment” and that “this shows the impact investment in social security has on child poverty”.
It also warns the Westminster government that child poverty is set to rise even higher in the absence of any poverty-reducing reforms, reaching 4.8 million by the end of this parliament in 2029.
Research from the Changing Realities study of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), which concluded that Labour could lift 700,000 children out of poverty if it adopted the SNP policy.
The SNP has consistently called for the UK government to match the Scottish Government’s action on child poverty by matching the Scottish Child Payment.
In a press release the SNP said
Instead of scapegoating struggling families on benefits for the UK’s ills the Chancellor should be using her spring budget to deliver the real and long-overdue action needed to tackle the increasing levels of child poverty in the rest of the UK.
It is a mark of shame on a Westminster Labour government that child poverty is rising and expected to hit record highs by the end of this parliament.
Westminster Labour government policies are now actively pushing children into poverty and holding Scotland back.
Source
CPAG’s response to the latest poverty statistics (pdf)
LSE
SNP
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