Children in poverty need top-up to benefits now, Finance Secretary told
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has been urged to help hard-up families by increasing child benefit payments by £5 a week as part of his budget.
Children’s charities, academics, trade unions and religious leaders are among those who are making the plea ahead of Mr Mackay setting out his tax and spending plans for the coming year on Wednesday.
John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said such a move “would be one way of lifting thousands of children out of poverty”.
While the Scottish Government has pledged to introduce an income supplement by 2022, campaigners said families who are already struggling for cash “can’t afford to wait that long”.
Scotland has 230,000 children who are living in poverty but the letter from faith leaders to Mr Mackay raises fears almost two out of five (38 per cent) could be affected by 2027.
“This would represent a grave and moral failing of our society,” the group, which includes the Rt Rev Susan Brown, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and Bishop William Nolan, president of Justice and Peace Scotland on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland.
They told the finance secretary that there was a “compelling argument” for ministers to “act with greater urgency in implementing the income supplement”, saying this should be done next year rather than by the current 2022 timescale
“Families across Scotland must be lifted out of poverty right now, rather than in several years’ time,” the faith leaders added.
Meanwhile, in a separate letter, civic leaders told Mr Mackay: “Children born into poverty today should not have to wait for four years to be freed from that poverty.
“If we want to realise our shared vision of a Scotland where every child has every chance, then we must use the budget to bring forward the income supplement, families simply cannot wait,” they added.
The Scottish Government can boost spending without putting up taxes, opposition parties have claimed ahead of Derek Mackay’s budget statement tomorrow.
The Conservatives highlighted figures showing that the Scottish Government received the third-biggest cash increase from the Chancellor at the UK budget in November when compared with Whitehall departments. It comes as Mr Mackay decides how to respond to tax cuts unveiled by Philip Hammond.
Scottish Labour have repeated their demand for further action from the Scottish Government to use its powers to ease austerity, including an end to the two-child cap on tax credits and the associated “rape clause”, a £5 top-up to child benefit, and a freeze on rail fares.
At the weekend, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats said they would not take part in budget talks with the minority SNP Government until their conditions were met.
Green co-convener Patrick Harvie said he wanted a commitment to council tax reform before any talks with Mr Mackay could begin, while Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie pulled out of further discussions unless the possibility of a second independence referendum was taken off the table.
Figures from the latest UK budget Red Book show the Scottish Government will receive a cash boost through additional spending and the Barnett Formula worth £1.6 billion, the third highest increase behind the UK transport and health departments.
The Scottish Tories said the funds should be passed on to public services without asking taxpayers to pay any more.
Shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser said: “These figures prove that the Scottish Government will benefit enormously from the UK budget.
“While the SNP can’t bring themselves to welcome it, this is a huge investment in Scotland.
“This shows that the SNP Government has enough cash to support our ailing public services without asking taxpayers more.
“The SNP has become a ‘pay more, get less’ government. With the Budget this week, that must end.”
Labour’s finance spokesman, James Kelly, urged the SNP to commit more money towards mitigating the impact of the UK government’s welfare reforms.
He said: “It would simply be morally wrong to leave children languishing in poverty whilst Scotland’s significant powers over welfare gather dust on the SNP Government’s shelf.
“Experts, faith leaders and charitieshavebackedlabour’s call to use Scotland’s powers to lift people out of poverty, and it is time for Derek Mackay to listen. The time for tinkering at the edges is over.”