HSCP staff awards 2019 PIC SHOWS Beth Culshaw with Marie McNair and Kerry Begg
Minister Shirley Anne Somerville, Marie McNair, both SNP, and Martin Whitfield, Labour.
By Bill Heaney
Issues involving children from poor backgrounds have been high on the agenda of both the Scottish and Irish parliaments over the past week.
Labour MSP Martin Whitfield asked the Scottish Government how it plans to meet the interim and final child poverty reduction targets, in light of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s finding in its report, “Poverty in Scotland 2025”, that current levels remain largely unchanged since 2021.
The SNP Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice Shirley-Anne Somerville told MSPs: “One child in poverty in Scotland is one too many, and we need to work together across this Parliament and, indeed, all Parliaments to deliver the change that is needed. Our action is making a real difference to families.
“On average, households with children that are in the poorest 10 per cent of households are estimated to be £2,600 a year better off in 2025-26 as a result of Scottish Government policies.
“Although the Joseph Rowntree Foundation predicts that child poverty will rise elsewhere in the United Kingdom by 2029, it highlights that policies such as our Scottish child payment and our commitment to mitigate the two-child limit are ‘behind Scotland bucking the trend’.”
Martin Whitfield told her: “The report shows that relative child poverty remains at 23 per cent, virtually unchanged since 2021, and that, worryingly, three quarters of children in poverty are in households where someone is in work.
“The report highlights that well-paid, secure work is a key guard against poverty and that, in order to get more families into work, we need a focus on childcare.
“According to research from Pregnant Then Screwed, 41 per cent of families have had to use their savings or take out loans to afford childcare.
“Why is the Scottish National Party’s childcare policy putting families into debt and keeping them mired in poverty?”
Shirley-Anne Somerville replied: “I recognise the fact that we have a lot of in-work poverty in the UK as a whole, and we recognise that one way to assist parents is to assist them into sustainable employment and to support them to increase their income once they get into a job.
“That is why we have parental employability support, which has been broadened to include parents in low-income employment and is enabling more parents to access person-centred employability support.
“When it comes to childcare, members in the chamber will be well aware that the Scottish Government’s annual investment of around £1 billion in the delivery of the 1,140 hours of funded early learning and childcare is providing vital support and that that offer would cost families more than £6,000 per eligible child per year if they had to pay for it themselves.
“We are working with local authorities to reach younger children by maximising the take-up of the ELC offer for eligible two-year-olds.”
Martin Whitfield said: “But 41 per cent of families are still dipping into their savings. The cabinet secretary spoke about employability support, which is a crucial measure and is, of course, devolved to the SNP Government, although it has been repeatedly cut.
“What specific action is the Scottish Government taking to expand employability support for the nearly 40 per cent of households in which someone is disabled that are in poverty?”
Shirley-Anne Somerville replied: “The main responsibility for many of the employability schemes lies with the UK Government through the Department for Work and Pensions and its Jobcentre Plus centres, and it would be fair to say that the success of those has been mixed.
“The member talks about what is happening for those in a household with a disabled person. That is why, just a matter of weeks ago, I was delighted to announce that there will be further funding from the Scottish Government to ensure that particular support for those with a disability or a long-term condition is available right across the country.
“That is, once again, a case of the Scottish Government stepping in where the UK Government has, as yet, failed to deliver.”
Marie McNair, Clydebank and Milngavie, SNP, averred: “The evidence is clear that cruel Tory policies such as the two-child cap, which is now Labour policy, are increasing poverty and hardship in Scotland and across the rest of the UK.
“Despite these challenging circumstances, Scotland is the only part of the UK where levels of child poverty are falling. How is the Scottish Government planning to mitigate the two-child cap policy, and what pressure is being put on the UK Government to follow suit?”
Shirley-Anne Somerville thanked Marie McNair for that question “on a rather obvious part of what could be done to assist families with children in poverty, which Mr Whitfield seemed to forget about”.
She added: “Let me point again to another area where the Scottish Government is stepping up because the UK [Labour] Government is failing to deliver, which is in mitigating the two-child cap. That is happening alongside our mitigation of the bedroom tax and our mitigation of the benefit cap.
“That support, which we are proud to deliver, is open for applications from 2 March 2026 and will help children across Scotland. Once again, the Scottish Government is delivering where the UK Government has not.”
Conservative MSP Alexander Stewart pointed out that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report also shows that in-work poverty has increased in Scotland, with more than 60 per cent of people in poverty being in a household where one or more people are in work.
He asked: “Is the cabinet secretary at all concerned that higher income tax in Scotland is pushing households into poverty?”
Shirley-Anne Somerville told him: “The member will be well aware that the Scottish Government’s income tax policies ensure that the majority of people in Scotland pay less tax than they would pay elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
“Our progressive tax policy has allowed more than £1.5 billion-worth of additional investment in our public services. If the member wishes to see that progressive tax system change, he will have to suggest where else that £1.5 billion would come from. It includes great investment to support low-income families and others through the current cost of living crisis.”
Meanwhile, Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin has pointed out that Ireland has “a full-employment economy” and said “protecting jobs is the key to people’s quality of life” — and that includes children.
Mr Martin acknowledged the absence of a personal tax package in Budget 2026 will impact workers over certain income thresholds.
He told the Dail: “We took a decision and I, when I became Taoiseach, we have a child poverty unit within my department and I wanted to put flesh on the bone of that.
“I wanted say once and for all, we’re going to give a package that can arrest the increase in children in consistent poverty now.
“I’m not talking about relative poverty, I’m talking about consistent poverty, which is about 8 per cent. We need to get that down to 3 per cent.
“So there’s a €300 million package there, which really does help people on the very lowest incomes, particularly in terms of the €16 for children over 12 extra on top of that payment, so a child support payment and €8.
“The message is, you know, given where we are in the world, and also given the volatility of corporation tax receipts, that’s a problem for us in terms of planning national finances.
“We’ve focused and pivoted to investing in capital infrastructure, which will protect the jobs we have and enable us to attract more jobs into the future. That’s very important.”
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