Families should live in dignity

AS faith leaders, we thank the Scottish Government for the leadership it has shown in bringing forward the Child Poverty Act and Child Poverty Delivery Plan, and we particularly welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to boosting t he incomes of families by introducing a new income supplement.

Across Scotland, the faith communities that we represent bear witness every day to the poverty that exists in our country. Whether through providing foodbanks, delivering support to people who are homeless, or assisting families who are struggling to get by, we are compelled to fill the gaps when the state’s safety net has failed.

Like you, we believe in a Scotland where every child can access the same choices and opportunities, where every family can live a life of dignity, and where the common good and wellbeing of all is paramount. But with so many children in Scotland currently living in poverty in Scotland, we are a long way away from that vision becoming a reality.

We believe that because of this, there is a compelling argument to act with greater urgency in implementing the income supplement. Given the levels of poverty that currently exist in Scotland, we urge you to consider using the budget to deliver the income supplement in the next year, rather than by the current timescale of 2022. Doing so would reflect the great need that families across Scotland must be lifted out of poverty right now, rather than in several years’ time. Yours sincerely,

Rt Rev Susan Brown, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Most Rev Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church Joan Cook, President of the Scottish Unitarian Association Bishop William Nolan, President of Justice and Peace Scotland on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland