Child poverty 31% in England. 24%. in Scotland

Child poverty gap between Scotland and UK widens

Was the General Election rigged in Scotland?

A new report (2024) from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has  confirmed England's position in terms of child poverty.

Child poverty 31% in England.

 24%. in Scotland

The Scottish Child Payment and universal free school meals for under-10s ....

The Scottish Government is spending millions on trying to mitigate the problem of child poverty - measures such as housing support and the Scottish Child Payment.  

In the most recent Scottish budget, the Scottish government raised the Scottish Child Payment to almost £27 per child per week and extended free school meals provision - it already covers more than half of the school roll, compared to a quarter in England.  

But with the limited powers as it has, the Scottish government cannot realistically hope to deal with the root causes of the problem ... 

 

The UK Labour Party will keep key policies that impoverish children

Meanwhile, both of the leading UK parties are committed to maintaining the policies that are causing the problem - the Labour Party has pledged to retain a two-child cap on benefits which is plunging children born into larger families into desperate poverty. 

The UK government also tightly limits free school meals so only a small minority of the pupils who need them can qualify, whereas in Scotland all pupils below P6 receive them. Hunger is now a real issue in England’s primary schools. The benefits caps imposed across the UK by the Westminster government ten years ago have pushed many families into substandard housing. 

An independent Scotland would not have to let its funding be decided by the UK government’s policy choices - it could emulate others that are making progress in this area, often small independent countries like Denmark and Estonia.