SNP under fire over ‘shame of child poverty’
NICOLA Sturgeon has been accused of a ‘record of shame’ on child poverty, as she unveiled a high-profile election pledge.
The SNP leader said ending child poverty would be a ‘driving mission’ of the next term of parliament and vowed to double the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per week if elected.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he announced the policy last month – and accused the SNP of 14 years of failure on tackling child poverty.
He said: ‘That was a policy I announced in February, which I’m pleased the Government is looking at now.
‘What I would say, though, is it is one thing saying fighting child poverty is going to be your national mission when you are coming new to government.
‘But having been in government for 14 years, having been First Minister for seven years, Nicola Sturgeon has presided over a quarter of our children across this country living in poverty and in her constituency of Glasgow Southside almost 50 per cent of children live in poverty.
‘That is a record of shame and frankly Scotland deserves better than that. Alongside that, I know what she says about the importance of priority of a national recovery but it is a shame she is once again exposed by her blindspot, which is around demanding a referendum and that distracting away from our recovery.
‘At a time when we should be pulling our country together to focus on what unites us and not what divides us, to pull through the collective trauma of Covid and to rebuild the country we love and focus on that recovery, she is again distracted by that one priority she is obsessed by.’
In a blizzard of policy announcements, Miss Sturgeon said the Scottish Child Payment will double from £10 per week to £20 if the SNP is re-elected. A £10 per week payment is currently being rolled out for children under six but this will eventually be extended to 170,000 children under the age of 16, she said.
She told the SNP’s campaign conference: ‘I can confirm that if we are re-elected on May 6, we will – over the course of the next term – increase the Scottish Child Payment from £10 per week for each eligible child to £20 per week.
‘It’s time to end the scandal of child poverty and this will help do it. It is a downpayment on what will be possible when we have the full powers over tax and social security that only independence can deliver.’
The Liberal Democrats have also pledged to double the child payments. Scottish Liberal Democrat social security spokesman Rosemary Bruce said: ‘After almost a decade-and-a-half of SNP rule, child poverty remains a stubborn stain on Scotland.
‘Scottish Liberal Democrats recognise poverty and hunger can be major factors in preventing children from achieving their potential. That’s why we are committed to doubling the Scottish Child Payment to tackle child poverty.
‘The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has warned that the SNP Government is at risk of missing the 2024 child poverty target that was unanimously agreed by the Scottish parliament.
‘We also support an enhanced Carers Allowance in Scotland.’