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Scottish Child Payment

The Committee has agreed to undertake a mini-inquiry on how effective the Scottish Child Payment is in reducing child poverty.

The Scottish Child Payment was launched in February 2021. It is a social security payment for low-income families with children under 16. Each eligible child receives £26.70 per week. The payment is made every four weeks.

The Scottish Government has previously said that the Scottish Child Payment will reduce the child poverty rate. The Government has set targets that require that, of all children living in Scotland:

• less than 18% are in relative poverty by 2023-24 and less than 10% by 2030-31
• less than 14% are in absolute poverty by 2023-24 and less than 5% by 2030-31
• less than 8% are in combined low income and material deprivation by 2023-24 and less than 5% by 2030-31
• less than 8% are in persistent poverty by 2023-24 and less than 5% by 2030-31

The statistics for 2023-24, which will show whether the Government has met its interim targets, won’t be available until March 2025.

To understand the effectiveness of the Scottish Child Payment, the Committee plans to hold two evidence sessions with academics, think tanks and key stakeholder organisations.

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Call for views

To inform its work, in Spring 2024 the Committee invited a number of academics and stakeholders to share their views on the effectiveness of the Scottish Child Payment.

Read responses to the Committee's questions

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Meetings

23 May 2024

On 23 May 2024, the Committee took evidence from:

• Professor Danny Dorling, Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford
• Tom Wernham, Research Economist, Institute for Fiscal Studies
• Dr Juliet Stone, Research Fellow, Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University
• Professor Ruth Patrick, Professor in Social Policy, University of York
• Professor Emma Tominey, Professor in Economics, University of York

See meeting details, 23 May 2024

30 May 2024

On 30 May 2024, the Committee took evidence from:

• Jack Evans, Senior Policy Advisor (Scotland), Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Stephen Sinclair, Chair, Poverty and Inequality Commission
• Ruth Boyle, Policy and Campaigns Manager, The Poverty Alliance
• Erica Young, Policy Officer (Social Justice), Citizens Advice Scotland

See meeting details, 30 May 2024