The Draft 2026 – 2027 Scottish Government Budget promises investment across the government’s key missions. Central to this is eradicating child poverty.
We are reassured that the Scottish Government has confirmed that the £128 million allocated to mitigate the two-child limit will be reinvested into anti-child poverty measures, and we appreciate the additional support through the Scottish Child Payment for families with a baby under 1 from 2027 – 2028. Also welcome is the commitment of £50 million for a Whole Family Support package to support parents into sustainable employment.
Our recent briefings on the experiences of children and young people in education have once again confirmed the urgent investment required for Additional Support for Learning and improved neurodevelopmental assessments and care for children and young people. While we are pleased about the Scottish Government announcement of continued investment, this does not go far enough to address the challenges and crisis facing children and young people in education today.
We look forward to the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan to better understand how the Scottish Government is planning to meet the statutory Child Poverty Targets by 2030 and improve the experiences of children, young people and families living across Scotland and to engage with the government to amplify the voices of those we support.
