THE Scottish government has called on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to “stop pushing children into poverty.”
The call from SNP work and pensions spokeswoman Kirsty Blackman comes during Challenge Poverty Week.
Scottish Labour has hit back at the SNP’s remarks, pointing out its “broken promises” in relation to child poverty.
Just days after think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) figures revealed that 30 per cent of children across Britain — amounting to 4.3 million — lived in poverty, Ms Blackman wrote to Ms Reeves to demand action.
Ms Blackman has called on the Chancellor to use her first Budget at the end of this month to scrap the bedroom tax, the two-child limit and the benefit cap, and boost the child element of universal credit to match the Scottish government’s Scottish Child Payment of £26.70 per child, per week.
The IFS report argues that these actions, if fulfilled, would lift 1.2 million children out of poverty.
The letter said: “The Labour government must end its austerity cuts and start treating poverty as a priority — or thousands more children will fall behind.
“I urge you to stop pushing children into poverty and take action at the UK Budget.
“I hope you’ll agree that — at a minimum — the Labour government must stop the damaging welfare cuts you are choosing to impose.
“People in Scotland were promised change at the general election. Instead of prioritising action on poverty, all they have seen is an out-of-touch Labour government lining its pockets with £800,000 of clothes, holidays, freebies and donations, while imposing painful austerity cuts on the rest of us.
“We must not lose a generation of children to poverty because of the cuts being imposed by your government. It’s time to deliver the step-change people were promised.”
But Scottish Labour pointed to SNP’s track record on child poverty in government, as they preside over a 30,000 rise in child poverty and the biggest poverty-related school attainment gap on record.
Slamming recent SNP decisions to scrap plans to extend free school meals to P6s and 7s, and slash the affordable housing budget by £200m, Scottish Labour social justice spokesman Paul O’Kane said: “The SNP says eradicating child poverty is its priority, but its record tells another story.
“The SNP’s warm words won’t cut it when children are suffering as a result of its raids on the affordable housing budget, it’s broken its promises on free school meals, and it’s cut vital support schemes designed to help families.
“Labour is already at work to tackle poverty at its root by dealing with the scourge of low pay and insecure work.
“The SNP must use its many devolved powers to lift Scots out of poverty and drive down the cost of things like housing and transport.”
