Scotland: Faith leaders join call for government to introduce income supplement to tackle child poverty

Bishop William Nolan with the Give Me Five campaign

Source: Justice & Peace Scotland

Leaders of Scotland's largest faith groups, children's charities, anti-poverty groups and senior academics have called on the Scottish Government to use its budget - due to be published on Wednesday - to urgently deliver a new income supplement for families who are struggling to get by.

The calls were made in letters to Derek Mackay MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work - coordinated by the Give Me Five campaign - which urged the Scottish Government to respond to rising poverty rates by bringing forward the introduction of the income supplement, which is currently due to be introduced by 2022.

The letters have been sent at a time when one million people in Scotland, including 230,000 children, are living in the grip of poverty. They state that by introducing the income supplement through topping up child benefit, tens of thousands of children would immediately be lifted out of poverty.

Bishop William Nolan, Bishop of Galloway, said: "A moral test of any society is how it treats those who have the least. To help us meet this test and to build upon the Scottish Government's work in tackling poverty, we need to deliver this cash boost to families sooner than 2022. Families who are living in poverty now simply cannot wait."

John Dickie, Director, CPAG in Scotland said: "These letters demonstrates the extraordinary breadth and depth of support across Scotland for an immediate boost to family incomes to help tackle the devastating hardship too many children are facing. The Scottish Government's commitment to an income supplement by 2022 is hugely welcome, but families who are struggling to put food on the table and pay the bills now really can't wait that long.

Along with faith groups, trade unions and children's charities we urge the Finance Secretary to prioritise financial support for families as a matter of urgency. A £5 top up to child benefit would be one way of lifting thousands of children out of poverty and protecting many more from the damage poverty wreaks."

Read the full text of the Bishops' letter here:

Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG

7th December 2018

Dear Cabinet Secretary,

As faith leaders, we thank the Scottish Government for the leadership it has shown in bringing forward the Child Poverty Act and Child Poverty Delivery Plan, and we particularly welcome the Scottish Government's commitment to boosting the incomes of families by introducing a new income supplement.

Across Scotland, the faith communities that we represent bear witness every day to the poverty that exists in our country. Whether through providing foodbanks, delivering support to people who are homeless, or assisting families who are struggling to get by, we are often compelled to fill the gaps when the state's safety net has failed.

It is because of our work in local communities across Scotland, as well as the principles upon which we believe our society should be based, that we have a deep shared concern about current poverty forecasts, which suggest that child poverty will continue to rise in the years ahead. If these forecasts are correct and child poverty levels in Scotland reach 38% by 2027, this would represent a grave moral failing of our society.

Like you, we believe in a Scotland where every child can access the same choices and opportunities, where every family can live a life of dignity, and where the common good and well-being of all is paramount. But with so many children in Scotland currently living in poverty in Scotland, we are a long way away from that vision becoming a reality.

We believe that because of this, there is a compelling argument to act with greater urgency in implementing the income supplement. Given the levels of poverty that currently exist in Scotland, we urge you to consider using the budget to deliver the income supplement in the next year, rather than by the current timescale of 2022. Doing so would reflect the great need that families across Scotland must be lifted out of poverty right now, rather than in several years' time.

As supporters of the Give Me Five campaign, we ask that - as well as bringing forward the delivery of the supplement - you also consider doing so via topping up child benefit, which would immediately lift tens of thousands of children out of poverty.

A basic moral test of any society is how it treats those who have the least. To help us meet this test and to build upon the Scottish Government's work in tackling poverty, we urge you to use this budget to expedite the delivery of the income supplement. Families who are living in poverty now simply cannot wait.

Yours sincerely,

• Rt Rev Susan Brown, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
• The Most Rev Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church
• Joan Cook, President of the Scottish Unitarian Association
• Bishop William Nolan, President of Justice and Peace Scotland on behalf of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland