Every Child, Every Chance - Scottish Government
Everychild,everychanceThe Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan2018-22
Everychild,everychanceThe Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan2018-22The Scottish Government, Edinburgh 2018
Crown copyright 2018This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 exceptwhere otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit /version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The NationalArchives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need toobtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.This publication is available at www.gov.scotAny enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us atThe Scottish GovernmentSt Andrew’s HouseEdinburghEH1 3DGISBN: 978-1-78851-731-7Published by The Scottish Government, March 2018Produced for The Scottish Government by APS Group Scotland, 21 Tennant Street, Edinburgh EH6 5NAPPDAS370266 (03/18)
Contents2-56-13MINISTERIAL FOREWORDSEXECUTIVE SUMMARY14-211. Introduction22-372. Work and earnings38-613. Costs of living62-714. Social security72-895. Helping families in other ways90-105106-143144-1496. Partnership working7. Assessing impactAnnex 1 Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 requirements*Annex 2 Further technical information*Annex 3 Equality impact assessment*Annex 4 Children’s rights and wellbeing impact assessment* Annexes 2-4 are published as separate documents and are available at http://www.gov.scot/1
Ministerial Forewordby The Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and EqualitiesThis Tackling Child PovertyDelivery Plan is the firstcrucial step in our journeytowards meeting theambitious targets set out inthe Child Poverty (Scotland)Act 2017. The Act is alandmark piece of legislationthat clearly positions Scotlandas leading in the UK ontackling child poverty. Itis a clear statement of theScottish Government’s intentto eradicate child povertyand this first DeliveryPlan, covering the period2018-22, will make a realdifference to children’s lives.The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22
Poverty is fundamentally about lack of income.That’s why the targets in the Act focus primarilyon income measures and why the majority of theactions set out in this Plan are aimed specificallyat increasing family incomes or reducing costs.Action here will help children and families now.However, we will also do more to help familieslessen the impacts of poverty and improvechildren’s quality of life so that, ultimately, theirlife chances are improved. This will also helplower the risk that they themselves will beraising their own children in poverty in 2030.Every part of government has a role in reducingchild poverty and others need to play their fullpart too. That’s why the Child Poverty (Scotland)Act also includes a local reporting duty, whichwill require local authorities and health boardsto work together to report annually on whatthey are doing to tackle child poverty. We alsowant to ensure that everyone across Scotlandhas a stake in ending child poverty: this Plan’sPartnership Working chapter explains how we’regoing to do just that.The Plan more broadly is the result ofpartnership – across parliament, withstakeholders, with parents, and with children andyoung people, many of whom will be parentsthemselves in 2030. I’d like to thank everyoneinvolved, but most of all I’d like to thank twogroups. First, the Children’s Parliament, whoseconsideration of the issues is threaded throughthis Plan in clever and insightful quotes. Andsecond, the Poverty and Inequality Commission,which the Scottish Government established inJuly 2017; the Commission’s advice on how toreduce child poverty has been invaluable and isreflected throughout the Plan.As a government, of course, we don’t havecontrol of every lever that could reducechild poverty; external issues – such as UKGovernment policy changes or global economicproblems – can also act as barriers to our goal.But we need to be aware of these externalimpacts and be able to respond wherever wecan – as we have in relation to the bedroomtax, for instance. And we need to be making acompelling case for more powers – as we will bedoing – so that we can do even more to help.In short, if we work together and do our verybest, we can end child poverty. And we must.It’s simply not acceptable that so many childrenin Scotland live in poverty. In a country asprosperous as Scotland, no child should havetheir chances limited by poverty. In the Yearof Young People 2018, we are determined todemonstrate, by our actions, that Every Childdeserves Every Chance.Angela Constance MSPCabinet Secretary for Communities,Social Security and Equalities2/3
Ministerial Forewordby The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and SkillsOver recent years, we have developed oureconomy, created and protected jobs andbusinesses, and made record investments inour public services and social and physicalinfrastructure. We want the economic growthdelivered in Scotland – by individuals,communities, businesses, and others – tosupport high quality jobs, decent wages andexcellent public services to benefit everyonein our country.The Scottish Governmentwants to build an inclusive,fair, prosperous, innovativecountry, ready and willingto embrace the future –and we’ve already madeconsiderable progress. Akey component of this isour pledge in legislation toeradicate child poverty.The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22Improving the education and life chances ofchildren and young people is the definingmission of this Government. Our vision issimple: to deliver excellence and equity inScottish education from early years throughto college and university. All children andyoung people, whatever their background orcircumstances, deserve the same chance toreach their full potential. Our investment toclose the poverty-related attainment gap isaimed at helping children to do just this. Ifwe can help deliver the skills, support andexperiences children and young people needto fulfil their ambitions, we will together makeScotland the economic success we want it to be,with very low levels of child poverty.More broadly, public services and those whowork in them support low income families in arange of crucial ways. Over the last 10 years,public services have become better integratedand more responsive to the needs of our diversecommunities. By focusing on those who mostrequire support and redesigning the way inwhich some services are provided, we will makesure we are using public resources in the longterm interests of the country.
The Fairer Scotland we want everyone to benefitfrom is one that genuinely advances equalityand protects and enhances socio-economicrights and children’s rights. And it really willtake all of us to build this Fairer Scotland – withits fairer economy, excellent education systemand reformed and improved services – if we areto meet our child poverty obligations.Despite these strong foundations, the challengeis still considerable. We are living in a timeof austerity imposed by the UK Government,with real-terms cuts set to continue, reducingfamily incomes and the resources available tothe Scottish Government to mitigate poverty’sdamaging impacts. With Brexit adding furtherpressures and risks to our economy, somemight argue that this is not a good time to beaiming to eradicate child poverty. The ScottishGovernment profoundly disagrees. Thatfamilies are more at risk from poverty nowthan for a generation strengthens the case formaking sure all our children and young peopleget the best start in life.There are no quick fixes – we simply need todo all that we can with the powers and theresources we have available. This will inevitablytake time, but this Plan offers a strong anddetermined start. As a society, we should bedoing everything we can to secure the bestoutcome for future generations. After all, whatis good for children now is good for all of us,now and in the future when we will, in turn,be relying on them. It is our duty to help andsupport all our children and young people togive them the best start we can.John Swinney MSPDeputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretaryfor Education and SkillsSo we’re investing in a whole host of ways todeliver the targets, including a new TacklingChild Poverty Fund, worth 50 million. Thisinvestment benefits all of us because everyonepays for poverty: governments spend hugeamounts of tax-payers’ money mitigating theshort- and long-term effects of lives lived onlow income. It’s better for society – and for theeconomy – to prevent these negative outcomesby investing now to help every child haveevery chance.4/5
Executive SummaryThis Delivery Plan contains many actions on childpoverty that the Scottish Government will takebetween 2018 and 2022. Here are some highlights.Work andearnings1. 12 million investment innew, intensive employmentsupport for parents. Thiswill help those already inwork to build skills, progressthrough their careers andearn more. It will also supportthose who are unemployedto move into work.2. Increased funding forthe Workplace EqualityFund. 750,000 is beingmade available to supportemployer-led projects thatadvance equality at work,with a focus on parenthood,progression, and familiesat high risk of poverty.Costs ofliving3. A new minimum paymentfor the School Clothing Grantacross Scotland. This will givemost low income familiesmore money for schooluniforms and sports kit.6. A new focus on families inour Warmer Homes Scotlandprogramme. This willdeliver an average savingof 350 per year off fuelbills for new customers.4. 1 million on new practicalsupport for childrenexperiencing food insecurityduring school holidays. Newresearch will also help usunderstand what furtheraction is needed at a nationallevel to address this problem.7. 3 million investment in anew Financial Health Checkservice. Personalised advicewill help low income familiesmaximise their incomes,avoiding the ‘povertypremium’ of higher costs foressential goods and services.5. New support for childcareafter school and in theholidays. This will helplow income parentsreduce childcare costs,work more flexibly andincrease their incomes.8. 1 million for the CarnegieUK Trust’s Affordable CreditLoan Fund. By growing theaffordable credit sector,more parents will be ableto access affordable creditwhen they need it, reducingthe problems causedby insecure incomes.The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22
Socialsecurity9.A new income supplement,which in time will providevital financial support forparents on low incomes.10. A new Best Start Grant.This new and expandedgrant will offer three moregenerous payments atkey stages for childrenin lower income familiesduring the early years.Helping familiesin other waysPartnershipworking11. 2 million investmentto test the innovativeChildren’s NeighbourhoodsScotland programme in anurban centre, a small townand a rural community,helping to improve a rangeof outcomes for children.14. A new 7.5 millionInnovation Fund withThe Hunter Foundation.This joint investment willsupport new thinkingand new approachesto preventing andreducing child poverty.12. 1.35 million newinvestment for the furthereducation sector todevelop initiatives withcolleges in local areas andfor the Student AwardsAgency for Scotland’soutreach programme.These preventativeapproaches will helpensure young people whohave grown up in povertyhave sustainable routesto positive destinationsand out of poverty.15. 500,000 for the Healthier,Wealthier Childrenapproach. This will helpsecure financial andpractical support, throughhealthcare settings acrossScotland, for pregnantwomen and families withchildren at risk of orexperiencing poverty.13. An initial 500,000 for anew tailored communityeducation programme forGypsy/Traveller families.This will provide speciallytailored play and earlylearning opportunities forpre-school children and theirparents living on Gypsy/Traveller sites, amongst arange of other support.6/7
SUMMARYThe Scottish Governmentis committed to endingchild poverty. Every childdeserves every chanceand we are determined todo everything we can todeliver the change needed.The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22
The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 requiresthe Scottish Government to reduce the numberof children who live in poverty. By 2030, thesetargets must be met:Fewer than 10% of children living infamilies in relative poverty. This meansfewer than one in ten children living inhouseholds on low incomes, comparedto the average UK household.Fewer than 5% of children living infamilies in absolute poverty. This meansfewer than one in twenty childrenliving in low income households whereliving standards are not increasing.Fewer than 5% of children living infamilies living in combined low incomeand material deprivation. This meansfewer than one in twenty children living inlow income households who can’t affordbasic essential goods and services.Fewer than 5% of children living in familiesin persistent poverty. This means fewer thanone in twenty children living in householdsin poverty for three years out of four.The Act also includes a set of interim targets tobe met by 2023.This Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan is for2018-22. It sets out new policies and proposalsto help us make strong progress towards thesetargets. Its actions are organised in two ways: Actions to make progress now on the threemain drivers of child poverty (income fromwork and earnings; costs of living; incomefrom social security) A range of preventative actions thathelp children and young people avoidbecoming parents in poverty by 2030(this includes a focus on quality of lifeand partnership working).The Poverty and Inequality Commission,established by the Scottish Government inJuly 2017, has provided expert, independentadvice on these issues and this Plan followsthe structure of that advice.Throughout, there is a focus on ‘priority families’at high risk of poverty: lone parents, familieswith a disabled adult or child, young mothers,minority ethnic families, families with a childunder 1, and larger families (with three ormore children). This gives the Plan a strongequality emphasis and a specific equalityimpact assessment is set out at ANNEX 3.All these targets are set on an ‘after housingcosts’ basis – in other words, the income familieshave left after they’ve paid for their housing.8/9
We’re already doing a lot tohelp low income familiesFamilies living on a low income already benefitfrom a wide range of help from measuresintroduced by the Scottish Government over thelast ten years.This includes delivering 72,500 affordablehomes so far; massive investment to increasefree early learning and childcare; providingfree school meals for children in low incomefamilies (and for all children in Primary 1-3)which saves families around 380 per childper year; investing more than 1 billion in theCouncil Tax Reduction scheme since 2013-14,helping almost half a million households eachyear; the Scottish Welfare Fund, providing crisisand community care grants; a new baby box ofessential goods for every newborn; our on-goingcommitment to the Living Wage and supportingwomen in and into work; introduction of theIndependent Living Fund; full relief from thebedroom tax; and our broader commitmentto a ‘social contract’ – the offer all citizensshould expect to receive, which includes freeprescriptions and no tuition fees.In this parliamentary term, our defining missionis to improve the education and life chancesof children and young people. The ScottishAttainment Challenge, our national commitmentto help tackle and ultimately close the povertyrelated attainment gap, is backed by 750million investment, allocated in three ways: 120 million Pupil Equity Funding – forheadteachers to invest in approaches thatmeet local needs; 45 million Challenge Authorities and SchoolsProgrammes – for schools in areas with highlevels of multiple deprivation; and A small number of national programmes,such as developing new routes into teaching,which help support the aims of the Challenge.So we’re already doing a lot to help childrenliving in low income families in a range of ways,but we know we need to do more.New action on workand earningsSustainable, fair work is a long-term routeout of poverty for families. To be sustainable,employment needs to offer parents decent ratesof pay, good training and support, opportunitiesto progress, a flexible work environment, andenough hours in work to provide a weekly ormonthly pay packet that – as a minimum –meets basic family needs.Our new actions on Fair Work includeinvesting 12 million between 2019 and2022 on intensive key worker support forparental employment. This support will helpthose parents who face considerable barriersreturning to work, with a particular focus on ourpriority families. It will also help parents alreadyin employment to stay in work and progressthrough a rewarding career.The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22
This new support offer is being developedalongside our national devolved employmentsupport service, Fair Start Scotland. Fair StartScotland goes live in April 2018 and willsupport at least 38,000 people over three yearsof referrals and will have positive impacts onaround 7,000 children.The Plan offers increased funding for theWorkplace Equality Fund. 750,000 is beingmade available to support employer-led projectsthat advance equality at work, with a focus onparenthood, progression, and families at highrisk of poverty.The Plan also makes clear our intention to builda Living Wage Nation, with a focus on engagingwith sectors, such as tourism and hospitality,in which low pay (and women’s low pay inparticular) is a concern.New action on costs of livingWe know that, for families on low incomes, costsof living can be high. Heating a family-sizedhome, feeding growing children, buying shoes,school uniforms and sports kit, equipment forschool or hobbies, paying childcare and travelcosts all add up. Families on low incomes oftenend up paying an unfair ‘poverty premium’for basic essentials – for example, becausethey have a pre-payment energy meter, or arepaying over the odds to a rent-to-own schemeto replace white goods because they can’t accessthe cheap credit those on higher incomes can.We’re taking action to help. The Plan sets outour expansion plans for early learning andchildcare and a new commitment on afterschool and holiday childcare. Lack of accessto childcare is a key barrier to entering workfor many parents, particularly lone parents, orto increasing their hours and their take homepay. The Poverty and Inequality Commissionrecommended that the Scottish Governmentshould be developing a strategic framework forafter school care as a priority and that’s whatwe are now doing.We’re working with local authorities to reducethe costs of the school day and together we willdeliver a new minimum for school clothing grantsacross Scotland – making sure that low incomefamilies, no matter where they live, get the helpthey need to get their kids ready for school.We know too that while free school mealentitlement is a massive help for parents, thereis concern about meals during school holidays.There’s some excellent local practice developingand we want to find out more. So, as well asnew research into provision locally, we’recommitting an extra 500,000 this year andnext ( 1 million new investment) to the annual 1 million we already invest in tackling foodinsecurity for this purpose.On housing, the largest cost most parents haveto cover, we’re working with partners in thehousing sector on keeping rents affordable.We’re also taking action to boost take up of theWarmer Homes Scotland programme by ourpriority families. This programme, which tacklesfuel poverty, delivers average fuel bill savingsof 350 per year.We’re in
The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22 Ministerial Foreword by The Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities This Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan is the first crucial step in our journey towards meeting the ambitious targets set out in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017. The Act is a
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