As an amendment to motion S6M-13566 in the name of John Swinney (Scottish Government Priorities: Eradicating Child Poverty), leave out from first "eradicating" to end and insert "child poverty should be a national mission for the Scottish Government, but deeply regrets that after 17 years of a Scottish National Party (SNP) administration, child poverty levels, after housing costs, have remained static, and that the most recent child poverty single-year statistics estimate that the number of children in Scotland living in poverty has now increased in 2022-23 to 260,000; acknowledges that the Poverty and Inequality Commission’s Scrutiny Report, published last week, provided a damning assessment of the SNP administration’s progress on tackling child poverty across a number of areas, noting that progress from the Scottish Government 'is slow or not evident at all'; disagrees with the Scottish Government’s decisions to slash the affordable housing budget, freeze the Scottish Welfare Fund, abandon parental employability schemes and decimate the Fuel Insecurity Fund, all of which act as barriers to prevent more children in Scotland falling into poverty; recognises that SNP inaction has been coupled with 14 years of dire economic mismanagement under the UK Conservative administration, which has led to increased child poverty rates across the UK; condemns the fact that, despite professing to tackle child poverty under successive First Ministers, child poverty is increasing, and the Scottish Government is now set to miss its interim reduction targets and its own legally-binding child poverty targets in 2030; urges the Scottish Government to heed the advice of its own expert advisors and take immediate and decisive action to reduce poverty across Scotland in the face of a decade of SNP inaction and failure, and welcomes the Labour Party’s plan to introduce a New Deal for Working People to deliver a real Living Wage, review Universal Credit and build a fairer social security system, tackle the cost of living crisis with a publicly owned clean energy company that would help to pay to keep bills down, paid for with a proper windfall tax on record oil and gas profits, deliver affordable public transport and housing support, end problem debt, and provide help and support for families and households across Scotland."
Result 21 for, 93 against, 0 abstained, 15 did not vote Vote Defeated
Scottish National Party
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Scottish Labour
Scottish Green Party
Scottish Liberal Democrats
No Party Affiliation
Alba Party
Submitted by: John Swinney, Perthshire North, Scottish National Party, Date lodged: Monday, June 10, 2024
Supported by: Jamie Hepburn, Paul McLennan, Shirley-Anne Somerville, Kaukab Stewart
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Submitted by: Douglas Ross, Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date lodged: Monday, June 10, 2024
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Result 27 for, 87 against, 0 abstained, 15 did not vote Vote Defeated
Submitted by: Maggie Chapman, North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party, Date lodged: Monday, June 10, 2024
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 11, 2024