Child Poverty Act “focused minds”, but greater collaboration needed, finds Holyrood Committee

The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act was passed by the Parliament in 2017 and aimed to tackle, report on and measure child poverty. It also established targets relating to the eradication of child poverty by 2030. The Scottish Government will publish statistics that will outline whether it has met its interim targets in March.

The Committee wanted to understand the impact of the Act, and in particular the difference that has been made by having a framework for reducing child poverty set in law.

In its report on post-legislative scrutiny of the Act, the Committee has found that, while the Act has instilled an appetite and motivation to tackle child poverty, something most clearly demonstrated in the establishment of the Scottish Child Payment, it has not led to sustained progress towards reaching the Scottish Government’s 2030 targets.

The report outlines a series of recommendations that could help the Government make further progress, including encouraging a culture of collaborative working across portfolios and engaging with local authorities to understand whether they can reach the targets and what further resources they might need.

The Committee also calls on the Government to share details on how its own research into child poverty in rural areas and in the islands has impacted on the Scottish Government’s approach.

Collette Stevenson MSP, Convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee, said:

“Our scrutiny has shown that the Child Poverty Act has helped ensure the Scottish Government keeps its aim of eradicating child poverty focused in people’s minds.

“However, it looks as though more progress can be made towards achieving the targets that were set out in the act, so we are calling for change on a bigger scale to happen.

“We’re keen to hear more from the Scottish Government about how it intends to do this so that it can meet its targets and make a real difference to the daily life of children and families in Scotland.”