As an amendment to motion S6M-16330 in the name of Jenny Gilruth (Addressing Child Poverty Through Education), leave out from ", which is" to end and insert "; commends Scotland’s teachers and schools for their work; notes that the poverty-related attainment gap has not improved in P1 and is the widest it has ever been at Higher level; further notes that the Scottish Government’s failure to plan for the school workforce has meant that teachers are often overworked and children are unsupported; expresses its disappointment at what it sees as the Scottish National Party’s broken promise of rolling out free school meals to all P6 and P7 pupils; believes that education should set young people on the path to opportunities for their future and can help lift people out of poverty; understands that 'Scotland’s colleges play a particularly important role in supporting learners from more deprived communities to access learning', as described by Audit Scotland, but that the 'financial health of the sector has deteriorated since 2021-22'; welcomes that 100,000 people in Scotland have already received a pay rise thanks to the UK Labour administration’s New Deal for Working People; acknowledges recent analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on the extent of child poverty in Scotland, which observed deficiencies in the key data used to calculate poverty rates and found that 'we will need to go further to reach the 2030-31 targets', and calls on the Scottish Government to work with the UK Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that accurate data is available for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and other organisations to accurately assess the extent of child poverty in Scotland and the impact of policy interventions on it."
Submitted by: Jenny Gilruth, Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Scottish National Party, Date lodged: Monday, February 3, 2025
Supported by: Graeme Dey, Natalie Don-Innes
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Submitted by: Ross Greer, West Scotland, Scottish Green Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Submitted by: Willie Rennie, North East Fife, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Date lodged: Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, February 5, 2025
Submitted by: Miles Briggs, Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date lodged: Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Wednesday, February 5, 2025