Johnstone amends Child Poverty Bill to ensure Scot Gov considers benefit top-up
Alison Johnstone MSP, Social Security spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, today (8 Nov) welcomed Parliament's support for her amendment to the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill, which means the Scottish Government will be required to say in each of the Bill's Delivery Plans if it intends to use new top-up powers to increase the value of Child Benefit.
Alison said:
"I'm pleased that this amendment has been successful, as the Child Poverty Bill is a vital chance to help boost the incomes of Scotland's poorest families. By 2020, it is projected that Child Benefit will have lost almost a third of its value compared to 2010, but a £5 a week top-up would lift 30,000 children out of poverty.
"Green MSPs are determined to make Scotland fairer, and we've already succeeded in ending sanctions on devolved work programmes, secured a roll-out of income maximisation programmes, and now we are ensuring that the Scottish Government regularly indicates whether or not it will use its benefit top-up powers. The UK Government has shown no interest in tackling child poverty, so Scotland must be prepared to take action with our new social security options."