Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP, Jenny Gilruth has welcomed new statistics which show Scotland has the lowest levels of child poverty of any nation in the UK.
Recent figures from End Child Poverty show that 21% of children in Scotland are currently living in poverty, compared to 29% of children in England and 34% of children in Wales.
Locally in Fife, the amount of children living in poverty was reduced by 16.2% in the last year, down four percentage points from 26.4% in 2019/20 to 22.1% in 2020/21.
These reductions come as a result of the Scottish Government’s commitment to ending child poverty through new game-changing policies such as the Scottish Child Payment.
The Scottish Government recently doubled the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week per child in April 2022 and will increase it further to £25 by the end of the year, in their efforts to bring down unacceptable levels of child poverty.
The Scottish Child Payment has supported over 9,620 families across Fife since its introduction.
Commenting, Jenny Gilruth MSP stated:
“Any level of child poverty is unacceptable in Scotland in the twenty-first century.
“However, it is welcome to see the Scottish Government’s policies already showing progress in reducing the scourge of child poverty, with Scotland having the lowest levels of child poverty of any nation in the UK.
“Child Poverty also reduced by 16.2% over the last year, as a result of SNP investment in communities and in supporting vulnerable families.
“These policies show locally and nationally that child poverty can be reduced, if there is the political will.
“But while this SNP Scottish Government was prioritising the most vulnerable in our society by introducing the Scottish Child Payment, the Tory UK Government was cutting Universal Credit when people needed it most. After Glasgow, Glenrothes was the worst impacted part of the country thanks to the callousness of this Conservative Government.”
“However, this does not have to be the case.
“Scotland can choose a future without this Tory UK Government and their callous policies.
“Scotland can choose independence.”
ENDS
Notes for editors:
Please find the End Child Poverty statistics for recent years, which detail the progress being made on child poverty across the UK, here: https://endchildpoverty.org.uk/child-poverty/.
