The Scottish Government published its draft budget today, setting out the spending aims and commitments for 2019/20. Commenting on the budget, the Poverty Alliance have described a missed opportunity to boost the incomes of families across Scotland who are struggling to get by.
Neil Cowan, Poverty Alliance said:
“1 million people in Scotland – including 230,000 children – are currently living in the grip of poverty, and this budget offered the opportunity to take the urgent action needed to loosen this grip. We – along with other anti-poverty groups, children’s charities, trade unions and faith leaders – have been calling on the Scottish Government to bring forward the delivery of the new income supplement, which is due to be introduced by 2022, and to deliver the supplement by topping up child benefit.
We called for this because it would unlock tens of thousands of children from poverty, and because families living in poverty now cannot wait until 2022.
That this has not been included in the draft budget is disappointing and represents a missed opportunity. However, given the cross-party commitment to solving poverty in Scotland we trust that it will be a focus of budget debates and negotiations.”
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