ANAS SARWAR has demanded the Scottish government commit to quadrupling the value of its child payment to tackle poverty and meet statutory targets. 

The Scottish Labour leader spoke out over concerns about the current failures on child poverty targets ahead of the publication this week of the programme for government.

In 2017, Holyrood passed the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act, mandating that by 2023-4 less than 18 per cent of children should be in relative poverty, and that by 2030-1 the number should be fewer than one in 10. Despite this, child poverty in Scotland has been rising and now sits at 26 per cent, equivalent to one in four children. 

Mr Sarwar has said the Scottish child payment should be doubled immediately and then doubled again next year, claiming this is even more important as the Tories at Westminster look set to end the £20 uplift to universal credit. 

He said: “This simple act would cut child poverty by nearly a third, transforming 80,000 lives.

“Tackling child poverty is not an abstract aim, it is a moral obligation, and it is our duty to end it as soon as possible.

“We don’t have the luxury of wasting more time. We can act now to tackle the scourge of child poverty: let’s make it happen.”

A spokeswoman said the Scottish government plans to significantly increase the level of its child payment up to a “full £20 payment” being achieved within the lifetime of the parliament.

She said the forthcoming programme for government will outline how use of the current powers of the Scottish government will create a better Scotland and help lift children out of poverty.