Scottish Parliament – Jan. 7, 2025 – 1

S6M-16003.4: As an amendment to motion S6M-16003 in the name of John Swinney (Tackling Child Poverty and Inequality Through the Scottish Budget), leave out from “the investments” to end and insert “that the Scottish Government has failed to reduce child poverty during 17 years of Scottish National Party administration;

recognises that the poverty-related attainment gap between the most and least deprived pupils has grown according to the most recent statistics and that the Scottish Government will fail to meet its previously stated target of closing that attainment gap by 2026;

acknowledges that Scottish Government policies, which seek to take a more lenient approach to young offenders, have contributed to vulnerable young people in deprived communities being targeted by organised gangs to carry out criminality;

believes that the draft Scottish Budget 2025-26 will continue to harm Scotland’s economic growth, which is desperately needed if the country is to tackle child poverty, and calls on the Scottish Government to rethink the draft 2025-26 Scottish Budget by providing workers and businesses across Scotland with a tax cut that will help induce the economic growth that Scotland needs.”

Original motion(S6M-16003): That the Parliament notes the investments outlined in the draft Scottish Budget for 2025-26 that focus on eradicating child poverty as a national mission and the single greatest priority for the Scottish Government, including continued investment in key policies such as funded early learning and childcare, concessionary travel for those under 22, employability services and social security;

further notes increased investment in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and investment in breakfast clubs and to support the expansion of free school meals;

recognises that the Scottish Government’s efforts to tackle child poverty are being undermined by the social security policies of the UK Government;

welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to spend £3 million to develop the systems to deliver the mitigation of the two-child cap in 2026;

acknowledges analysis from the Child Poverty Action Group estimating that abolishing the two-child limit could lift 15,000 children in Scotland out of poverty;

recognises that the measures in the draft Scottish Budget 2025-26 will help to drive progress towards this national mission, and calls on the UK Government to match the ambition of the Scottish Government and abolish the two-child limit and benefit cap at the earliest possible opportunity.