SNP ministers warned over 'national shame' of child poverty as progress stutters

Warnings have been issued after a lack of progress in alleviating levels of child poverty.

Statistics released on Thursday showed 260,000 (26%) children were living in relative poverty in Scotland last year

SNP ministers have been accused of having “failed too many children and families” after new statistics revealed that little progress has been made in lifting young people out of poverty, with the figure rising in the last year.

The Scottish Government has committed to reduce child poverty to 10 per cent by 2030, with an interim target of 18 per cent by next year - but is facing pressure to eradicate the "national shame". The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has warned the legally-binding targets are at risk.

Ministers have been criticised after three-year statistics show that between 2020 and 2023, an estimated 21 per cent of working-age adults were in relative poverty, up from 19 per cent in 2016-19.

Shirley-Anne Somerville. Picture: Fraser Bremner/WPA pool/Getty Images

The statistics, covering up to March 2023, show “little recent change in poverty levels for children and pensioners”. The publication adds that “poverty for working-age adults is slightly higher than in recent years, which could be driven by people becoming economically inactive as a result of the pandemic”.

The Scottish Government findings estimates that 24 per cent of children, around 240,000 children each year, were living in relative poverty, after housing costs, between 2020 and 2023. While the three year figure is stable, single-year statistics showed an increase, up approximately 30,000. The number of children living in poverty across the UK has also hit a record high.

SNP ministers have been challenged on the findings and urged to increase the Scottish child payment to £40 per week.

Fiona Steel, national director for Scotland at Action for Children, said: “Today’s statistics are a stark reminder we still have levels of poverty in Scotland which should have been eradicated.

“It means our nation has failed too many children and families, leaving them with no resilience or protection in their household budgets, so purchases like a broken washing machine or cooker would create impossible choices.

“To move the dial on poverty, Action for Children are calling for an increase to the Scottish child payment to £40 per week and free school meals for all primary and secondary school pupils to keep more money in families’ pockets.”

Scottish Labour social justice spokesperson, Paul O’Kane, branded the situation “a national scandal”, adding that “it shames both of our governments that no progress has been made tackling it”.He said: “There is no mission more important than tackling child poverty, and the SNP has betrayed a generation of children by failing to do so. The SNP is not only failing in its moral duty to lift children out of poverty, but it is clearly on track to breach its legal duties too.

“More working age people are falling into poverty as a result of SNP and Tory failure to create jobs and boost wages.”Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish Government was doing “everything in our power and limited budget” to tackle poverty, adding the latest statistics “reinforce the urgency of that mission”.

She added: "Modelling published last month estimates that Scottish Government policies will keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty in 2024-25.

“Against the backdrop of UK Government austerity, the Scottish Government continues to allocate £3 billion a year to policies which will help to tackle poverty and mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on households. This includes increasing the Scottish child payment to £26.70 a week from April 1 – making the value almost £1,400 per eligible child per year.”