Chancellor urged by SNP to ‘stop pushing children into poverty’

The SNP has urged the Chancellor to “stop pushing children into poverty” – branding Labour “out of touch” for accepting “freebie” apparel and holidays.

SNP enactment and pensions spokeswoman Kirsty Blackman has written to Rachel Reeves astatine the commencement of Challenge Poverty Week and up of the Budget connected October 30, informing she “must extremity austerity and commencement treating poorness arsenic a priority”.

It comes aft the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) said connected Thursday that determination are presently much than 4.3 cardinal children surviving successful poorness successful the UK – astir a 3rd (30%) of each children – and that implementing the SNP’s projected bundle of 3 measures would assistance astir 1.2 cardinal youngsters retired of poverty.

The SNP is calling for the two-child bounds and payment headdress to beryllium abolished, the Bedroom Tax to beryllium scrapped, and Scottish Child Payment to beryllium matched by raising the kid constituent of Universal Credit by £26.70 per kid per week astir the UK.

Ms Blackman’s missive said the fig of 4.3 cardinal children successful poorness is “a scandal” and it is “shameful” that Labour has “actively chosen to propulsion much children into poorness by continuing damaging payment cuts”.

It said the party’s policies are “punitive” portion the SNP’s are “progressive”, and that Scots person been “short-changed” since the wide predetermination owed to arguments astir “freebies” and “donations” accepted by starring Labour figures.

It read: “The Labour Government indispensable extremity its austerity cuts and commencement treating poorness arsenic a precedence – oregon thousands much children volition autumn behind.

“I impulse you to halt pushing children into poorness and instrumentality enactment astatine the UK Budget by abolishing the two-child bounds and payment cap, scrapping the Bedroom Tax, and matching the Scottish Child Payment by raising the kid constituent of Universal Credit.

“The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) published caller probe showing that the SNP’s projected bundle of measures would assistance astir 1.2 cardinal children retired of poverty. That is the enactment we request if the UK is to basal a accidental of eradicating kid poverty.

“The SNP Government is having to walk millions of pounds each twelvemonth mitigating the harm of cuts present being imposed.

“The Labour Government is failing children. It should not beryllium relying connected the SNP Government to cleanable up its messiness and support Scottish children from its payment cuts – but that is precisely what is happening.

“Scotland’s advancement is being earnestly undermined. For each measurement we take, Labour cuts are pushing children backmost into poverty.

We indispensable not suffer a procreation of children to poorness due to the fact that of the cuts being imposed by your Government

Kirsty Blackman's missive to Chancellor Rachel Reeves

“I anticipation you’ll hold that – astatine minimum – the Labour Government indispensable halt the damaging payment cuts you are choosing to impose.

“People successful Scotland were promised alteration astatine the wide election. Instead of prioritising enactment connected poverty, each they person seen is an out-of-touch Labour Government lining its pockets with £800,000 of clothes, holidays, freebies and donations, portion imposing achy austerity cuts connected the remainder of us.

“We indispensable not suffer a procreation of children to poorness due to the fact that of the cuts being imposed by your Government. It’s clip to present the step-change radical were promised.”

A UK Government spokesperson said: “No kid should beryllium successful poorness – that’s wherefore our caller cross-government taskforce is processing an ambitious strategy to trim kid poorness and springiness children the champion commencement successful life.

“This comes alongside our wider enactment to tackle inequality, marque enactment wage and present maturation to hole the foundations of our state and marque everyone amended off.

“We volition proceed to enactment intimately with the Scottish Government connected our shared extremity of tackling poverty.”