Scottish Government Debate: Programme for Government - Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission

1. Shirley-Anne Somerville S7M-01022 That the Parliament notes the publication of the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government, Ambitious for Scotland, and its actions aimed at eradicating child poverty and supporting families with the cost of living; recognises the ambition to go further by transforming the childcare offer for families, delivering a £2 bus fare cap across all of Scotland, and investing record public sector funding in affordable housing; welcomes the focus on ensuring support for families is integrated, person-centred and accessible, including through delivery of the £20 million Whole Family Support Third Sector Fund; supports the commitment to build on action set out in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan for 2026-31, which is estimated to keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty this year, and to going further and faster so that every child has the chance to succeed regardless of their circumstances, and commits to working together to drive continued progress toward the eradication of child poverty in Scotland. Further details available for S7M-01022 2. Julie MacDougall S7M-01022.5 As an amendment to S7M-01022, in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville (Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission), leave out from "recognises" to end, and insert "notes that, by the Scottish Government's own admission, child poverty is above its 2023-24 interim target of 18%, meaning that approximately 210,000 children are still living in poverty; expresses its disappointment that, despite the buzzwords and branding of its title, Bringing Hope, Building Futures, the Scottish Government's tackling child poverty delivery plan for 2026-2031 will not reach the 18% target until 2031; acknowledges that child poverty cannot be tackled in isolation, but rather by the totality of Scottish Government's policies; believes, that, in particular, the combination of Scottish Government policies on taxation and business regulation as well as lagging educational attainment have a detrimental impact on the economy and, as a result, the incomes and job opportunities for families, which undermine the positive impacts of policies designed to reduce child poverty, and calls on the Scottish Government to commission an independent review into whether its taxation, business regulation and education polices have led to the higher than expected levels of child poverty." Further details available for S7M-01022.5 3. Mark Griffin S7M-01022.1 As an amendment to motion S7M-01022 in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville (Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission), leave out from "supports” to end and insert “regrets that, while eradicating child poverty has been a defining mission for the Scottish Government for nearly a decade, too many children remain trapped in poverty, record numbers are living in temporary accommodation and key anti-poverty measures have not been delivered; reaffirms the commitment to meet the targets set out in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017; believes that a new approach is clearly needed with a focus on both delivery and tackling the root causes of poverty; further believes that tackling child poverty requires action across housing, homelessness, childcare, employment and family support as well as finally closing the attainment gap, and believes that if ministers are serious about delivery, they should engage in cross-party working to achieve the statutory targets and improve outcomes for children and families across Scotland." Further details available for S7M-01022.1 4. Holly Bruce S7M-01022.2 As an amendment to motion S7M-01022 in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville (Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission), insert at end "; calls for decisive and committed action to disrupt financial inequality between women and men, and recognises the need for targeted action to confront women’s poverty as a vital part of realising its mission to eradicate child poverty; supports the progressive increase to the Scottish Child Payment to £40 per week for all children, not just those under one year old, with the goal of increasing this to £55 per week by the end of the current Parliamentary session, and believes that an increase to the Scottish Child Payment for young parents must be made to compensate for the UK Government’s Young Parent Penalty." Further details available for S7M-01022.2 5. Morven-May MacCallum S7M-01022.4 As an amendment to motion S7M-01022 in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville (Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission), insert at end“; calls for action to ensure that families, particularly in rural communities, do not face challenges in accessing childcare services with parents and guardians having real choice and flexibility over how to organise their lives and fewer barriers to work; acknowledges that, by providing a choice, parents are enabled to return to work if they want, boosting family incomes, tackling child poverty and growing the economy; believes that access to early learning and childcare (ELC) would be enhanced by introducing fairer rates for private, voluntary and independent providers of ELC to cover the actual costs of delivering high-quality ELC; further believes that the Scottish Government commitment in its Programme for Government to invest in independent providers does not go far enough, and calls on it to fully close the funding gap between independent and local government providers of ELC and to ensure that parents have sufficient access to childcare provision wherever they are in Scotland.” Further details available for S7M-01022.4