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Response to the Committees letter on the Scottish Governments Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan

Letter from Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, 3 December 2021

Dear Neil,

Thank you for your letter of 22 November responding to my request for your Committee’s views on the second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan.

The Committee’s response is greatly appreciated, and, alongside the views of third sector stakeholders, local government and people with lived experience of poverty, will help us to develop the next delivery plan and set a clear path to achieving the child poverty targets.

Whilst the detailed advice and recommendations you provided will be considered as we develop the plan, I wanted to take this opportunity to respond to some of the more immediate issues raised in your letter. 

Consultation Process 

The Scottish Government is consulting with a wide range of stakeholders, seeking to build on the robust evidence base established during the life of our first delivery plan, including the wealth of evidence and consultation produced by stakeholders and other Scottish 
Government portfolios. With this in mind, and to avoid duplication, I sought the views of your Committee as the principle Committee with the remit, expertise and oversight of this work.  Engagement with third sector organisations, local government and people with lived experience of poverty is continuing into the new year as we seek to co-develop and test policy proposals in advance of publishing the plan in March 2022. 

Data sharing with the Department for Work and Pensions 

As you know, it is our intention to extend the Scottish Child Payment to eligible children under 16 by the end of 2022. It is essential that the UK Government give us the data we need for 6-15 year olds in time to support that commitment. As the Committee is aware, we have engaged extensively with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on this important issue, including in November at the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare Scottish Ministers, and a bilateral Ministerial meeting between the Minister for Social Security and Local Government and DWP’s Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work. Those meetings were productive; but despite on-going engagement, we are still awaiting details of a solution from the UK Government that is deliverable within the agreed timescales. Scottish Government and DWP officials will continue to work closely together to address these challenges in aligning our delivery plans.  
 

Funding the Child Poverty Delivery Plans  

Due to the cross cutting nature of actions needed to tackle child poverty, the responsibility and budget allocation for specific actions does not always sit in one place or deliver for a sole purpose, and therefore it may not be possible to directly compare investment between plans. The Programme for Government confirmed funding for the Tackling Child Poverty Fund at £50 million over the life of the next delivery plan, however, the overall funding for tackling child poverty is significantly higher. In 2020-21 we invested around £2.5 billion to support low income households, including nearly £1billion to directly support children. We intend to continue our annual estimates of spend targeted on children from low income households which will enable comparisons on spend over time.   

The Social Renewal Advisory Board Recommendations 

The recommendations in the Social Renewal Advisory Board’s report are now being reflected in Scottish Government policy as can be seen in both the Government’s 100 days commitments and our Programme for Government. Of the 77 specific recommendations, 69 are being taken forward either in full, or part. This includes exploring a Minimum Income Guarantee, increasing the Scottish Child Payment and reviewing the Scottish Welfare Fund. In September the Deputy First Minister and I met with the members of the Social Renewal Advisory Board to provide them with an update on the recommendations in their report.   

At that meeting we agreed that a successful recovery from the pandemic will require using all of the levers available, including the partnership working and the “can do” attitude that brought many benefits during the pandemic, taking risks to do things differently, listening to what people are saying and supporting community wealth building. Although the work of the Board has concluded, the Board’s recommendations have been instrumental and will continue to influence policy through the Covid Recovery Strategy, and the next Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan will be firmly grounded in this approach.   

Kind regards, 

Shona Robison