The First Minister has made eradicating child poverty the defining goal of the five-year Programme for Government. The Scottish Government’s actions so far have achieved significant impact, with the policy package, including the Scottish Child Payment, estimated to keep 100,000 children out of poverty this year. 

However, over one in five children today are living in poverty. The Scottish Government's own projections put relative child poverty at 18% in 2030-31, against a statutory target of under 10%.  The Programme for Government adds almost nothing new to close that gap. There were no major new commitments on employability or social security, the two levers that do most to raise family incomes. The plans to expand the £2 bus fare cap and childcare support are positive, but lack firm timelines and, in the case of childcare, policy detail. The expansion of free school meals and the expansion of Children First’s National Support line mark a further step in the right direction, but their impact on poverty reduction will be small. 

There was also no firm commitment to abolishing Council Tax, a regressive and outdated system that places an unfair burden on many low income families. And crucially, the Scottish Government offered little indication of how it intends to transform an economic system that entrenches poverty and inequality in the first place.

Scotland is on a mission to eradicate child poverty by the end of this parliament, but that will require more ambitious policy than what was presented in the Programme for Government. 

[1] The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government was published on 1 September. 

[2] Future Economy Scotland is a non-partisan think tank that aims to create a new economy that is democratic, sustainable and just. The organisation does not have a formal stance on Scotland’s constitutional future, and is not aligned to any political party or any politician. The organisation is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee operating with charitable principles. For more information visit: www.futureeconomy.scot