Target to reduce child poverty to 10% by 2030 still achievable, says Swinney

The Child Poverty Action Group said figures showed the Scottish Government is set to ‘fall far short’ of its legally binding goal.

First Minister John Swinney vowed to ‘exhaust every avenue’ to lower child poverty (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

The Scottish Government can still achieve its legally-binding target to reduce child poverty to 10% by 2030, John Swinney has insisted after charities warned it is set to be missed.

The First Minister said it will take effort from both the Scottish and UK governments to lower deprivation among children north of the border.

He said there will need to be the “right policy focus across the board” if the goal is to be met.

The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act requires ministers to cut the rates of poverty among children to 10% in the next six years.

But statistics released by the Scottish Government earlier this year showed nearly a quarter (24%) of children were living in poverty in Scotland.

That was 6% higher than the interim goal of 18% for this year, which the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has said “will almost certainly” be missed.

The Child Poverty Action Group said the current figures show the Scottish Government is set to “fall far short” of its 2030 target.

Speaking during a tour of the CentreStage arts charity in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, on Tuesday, Mr Swinney said he will “exhaust every possible avenue” to lower child poverty, and he insisted it is not too late for the 10% target to be met.

He said: “I think it is achievable if there is the right policy focus across the board.

“We’ve taken steps, for example, through the Scottish child payment which is contributing to keeping 100,000 children out of poverty in Scotland today.

“We have, as a consequence, comparatively lower poverty rates in Scotland than the rest of the United Kingdom.

“But if you had a whole series of policy interventions from the Scottish and the United Kingdom governments working in harmony, then you can make even more substantial progress.”

He urged the UK Government to end the two-child benefit cap, which he said is keeping 20,000 children in Scotland in poverty.

“If that was to be removed it would provide us with the opportunity to make even more progress than we are making today,” he said.

“That is an example of policy at the United Kingdom Government level working in harmony with what the Scottish Government is trying to achieve.

“I think it is perfectly achievable if we have the right investment and involvement.

“What I can say, from the perspective of the Scottish Government, is that we will do absolutely everything we possibly can do to try to configure policy within the resources available to us to make them the greatest impact possible on child poverty rates.”

A report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on Monday accused both the UK and Scottish governments of failing to use their powers to reduce poverty.

Its research found the proportion of those living in “very deep poverty” – measured as those earning below 40% of the median income – has surged to 40% of all families in Scotland, up from 26% in the mid-1990s.

The JRF said families are being “locked into poverty” by a “failing” social security system.

Scottish Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie said: “All the evidence shows that this target will soon become yet another SNP broken promise.

“The SNP have had 17 years to move the dial, but now almost a quarter of children are in poverty and there are record numbers of children in temporary accommodation.

“Ministers are threatening to make that situation even worse by slashing the housing budget and ditching their promise to roll out free school meals for all primary school pupils.

“If John Swinney wants to eradicate child poverty, he should be backing up targets with action that will make a difference.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “No child should be in poverty – that’s why our new cross-government taskforce is developing an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty across the United Kingdom and give children the best start in life.

“We have committed to reviewing universal credit while we deliver on our plan to tackle inequality and make work pay to ensure families get the support they need to thrive and prosper.”