In September 2024, we responded to a call for evidence from the Social Justice and Social Security Committee on the Post Legislative Scrutiny of the Child Poverty Act 2017. Below is a short summary, with our full response available in the downloads section.
Our response
We concentrated our response on what still needs to be done to meet the child poverty targets in Scotland. We highlighted data that showed the numbers of children and young people in Scotland living in poverty and stated that substantial action and investment are needed to bring children out of poverty and enable them to have the best start in life.
Our recommendations
- Expand the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) to include both in and outpatients to help a greater number of families met the costs of attending hospital.
- Increase the Scottish Child Payment as a minimum to £30, increasing to £40 per week within in the lifetime of this parliament to help families in need.
- Expand free school meals to all primary school children as soon as possible.
- Improve access to and provide long-term, stable funding for cross-sector community-based services, resources and advice for children, young people, and families to support their health and wellbeing.
Downloads