CAMPAIGNERS have claimed UK Government cutbacks could wipe out almost all of the progress made on child poverty in Scotland over the past decade.
The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland believes almost 100,000 Scots children who were saved from poverty between 1998/9 and 2009/10 could soon be facing it again under controversial changes to the benefits system.
The claims follow a report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) that forecasts relative child poverty throughout the UK will rise by 800,000 by 2020. This would take the total number of impoverished children in the UK to 3.3 million -- almost one in four youngsters.
Anne Houston, chief executive of charity CHILDREN 1st, said the country’s poverty rate was “unacceptable” and she urged the Scottish Government to do more to offset the Westminster cuts.
She said: “The report from the IFS is very concerning. One in five children in Scotland already lives in poverty, which is unacceptable. As fuel costs and other essential living costs continue to rise, it is essential the Scottish Government does all it can to support families living in poverty and ensure ending child poverty remains a priority on the political agenda.
“Poverty damages a child’s life chances and makes their childhood less safe and secure, and less happy.”
The latest figures for Scottish child poverty show that in 2009/10 one in five children was living in poverty -- a total of 200,000.
John Dickie, head of CPAG Scotland, claims this could increase by almost half over the next decade if both the UK and Scottish Governments do not address the problem.
Mr Dickie said: “Unless we see a fundamental shift in UK policy we will see the progress made to reduce child poverty across Scotland in recent years virtually wiped out.
“It’s now more important than ever that the Scottish Government makes budget decisions that protect families. That means investing in childcare and early-years services, reducing the additional costs of school by delivering on free school meals and school clothing grant commitments, building on the living wage and ensuring families get the advice and information they need to access the financial support they are entitled to.”
A child is considered to be in relative poverty if they live in a household with an income lower than 60% of the average that year.
The IFS report stated that while the UK Government’s plans for a Universal Credit benefits scheme will act to reduce poverty, the overall effect will be a “large decline in real incomes across the income distribution”.
However, a UK Government spokesman said: “The IFS acknowledges that Universal Credit will substantially reduce child poverty. It will make work pay for the first time, tackling in-work poverty, and lift over one million people, including 450,000 children, out of poverty.”
A Scottish Government spokesman added: “We are determined to address the root causes of poverty and launched Scotland’s first national strategy to tackle child poverty earlier this year. This builds on innovative home-grown policies such as the social wage.”
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