Johnstone to bring amendments to Child Poverty Bill to boost incomes
Alison Johnstone MSP, Social Security spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, today (1 June) confirmed that she plans to bring amendments to the Scottish Government's Child Poverty Bill to ensure that full use is made of Holyrood's new social security powers.
Speaking in this afternoon's debate on Stage One of the Bill, Alison said:
"The latest Child Poverty statistics reveal a four per cent rise in Relative Child Poverty in just one year. That is a rise of 40,000 children, to 260,000.
"The statutory Child Poverty targets in this Bill have existed before, but were removed by the UK Government in favour of measures relating to worklessness, which implies that work is always a route out of poverty. That is simply not the case.
"The Joseph Rowntree Foundation figures show that 1 in every 8 workers in the UK is now living in poverty. In Scotland, 70 per cent of children in poverty live in households with at least one working adult, a 15 per cent increase over 5 years.
"I will be bringing an amendment to the Bill to ensure that it makes full use of the social security system, to boost the incomes of our poorest families. By 2020, it is projected that Child Benefit will have lost 28 per cent of its value when compared to 2010, and we can start to address this by adding £5 a week. This would cut child poverty by 14 per cent, lifting 30,000 children out of poverty.
"Lack of an adequate income must remain central to any poverty measurement and any strategy. That's why Greens welcome the re-instating of these targets and why we are supporting the principles of the Bill at this stage. We will work hard to ensure the Bill is strengthened as it moves forward."