Take Rowntree’s tip and tackle the roots of poverty

Additional spending on benefits without addressing the root causes of high housing costs, poor education and low pay has failed to reduce poverty.

Those are not my words but the words of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, one of the leading organisations dedicated to eradicating poverty, in their report “We can solve poverty in the UK,” published last September.

The Scottish Parliament will consider the Child Poverty Bill in the coming weeks.

The bill sets targets to reduce child poverty significantly by 2030 and places duties on Scottish Ministers to set out delivery plans to meet those targets and to report to the Scottish Parliament annually on their progress.

While these provisions are important, the SNP’s flagship legislation will do nothing on its own to address the root causes of poverty.

I believe that we must heed the words of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The UK Government is ensuring that wages are boosted by turning the minimum wage in to a national living wage of £9 an hour by 2020.

It is up to the SNP Government to deliver a strong and growing economy which enables people to access those well-paid jobs.

Their record is one of under achievement. The rate of growth in jobs in Scotland since 2007 is lower than any other nation or region of the UK.

The first minister has also said that her priority is to close the attainment gap in education.

On March 8, league tables for schools in Glasgow and surrounding local authorities were published which showed the proportion of pupils at each school who achieved three or more higher passes.

The contrast between East Dunbartonshire with its wealthier postcodes and Glasgow and South Lanarkshire is staggering and disgraceful.

Most schools in East Dunbartonshire see around 70 per cent of pupils regularly achieve three or more higher passes.

In contrast, pupils in Glasgow or South Lanarkshire attend schools where the proportion who achieve the same standard is more often than not below 50 per cent.

Closing the attainment gap is absolutely key if we are to break the cycle of generational poverty and give young people in Rutherglen and Cambuslang a shot at a better future. If we are to learn from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, then Scotland will eradicate child poverty not by making headlines out of poverty but by taking aggressive and targeted action to address its underlying causes.

That means making the delivery of a growing economy for Rutherglen and Cambuslang and improving education in local schools our absolute priority.