Child poverty & health targeted
Forbes confirms £20 Scottish Child Payment
FINANCE Secretary Kate Forbes will put child poverty reduction at the heart of today’s Scottish Budget.
She will confirm the £10 a week Scottish Child Payment will be doubled as part of a drive to reduce inequality.
However, Labour will claim the measure is not ambitious enough to hit anti-poverty targets.
Forbes, who took over the Cabinet role after the resignation of shamed Derek Mackay, will announce how £35billion of block grant money from Westminster will be spent.
With Nicola Sturgeon already promising a boost to NHS spending of at least 20 per cent by the end of the Parliament, health will be a big winner.
And with the SNP/Green Government commanding a comfortable majority at Holyrood, Forbes’ draft tax and spending plans are certain to be passed.
A key element, already trailed by Sturgeon, is for a £20-a-week SCP for under-sixes and then rolled out to under-16s.
Speaking ahead of the Budget, Forbes said: “While it has been a difficult 18 months for all of us, it has been particularly hard for those on the lowest incomes. This Budget is designed to ensure those most impacted by the pandemic do not bear a long-term burden and that is why this Budget will continue our national mission to tackle child poverty.
“It will provide certainty and stability for families whileworking to reduce inequalities.
“Our commitment to double the game-changing Scottish Child Payment to £20 per child per week from April next year will reach over 105,000 children under age six in just four months’ time.
“The benefit, which is unique in the UK, will be fully rolled out to under16s by the end of 2022... and will then have the potential to reach 400,000 children.”
Daniel Johnson, Labour’s finance spokesman, said: “Scotland deserves a budget with bold ideas, backed up by ambition, not the usual all-spin-and-nosubstance deals previously struck between the SNP and the Greens.
“This year will see the largest block grant increase in the Scottish Budget in two decades – this is a massive opportunity to deliver a real recovery for Scotland and invest in our future.”