Scotland reporter

THE Scottish government must build on policies like the Scottish child payment in next month’s Budget if ministers are serious about tackling child poverty, a charity has warned.

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) made the plea as it revealed that the cost of raising a child to 18 in Scotland at a socially acceptable standard now stood at £250,000 for a couple and £290,000 for single parents. 

In its latest report, the charity found that on median incomes, couples could cover 99 per cent of that cost and a single parent 81 per cent, but for full-time workers on the minimum wage, those figures drop to 90 per cent for couples and only 79 per cent for lone parents.

CPAG, however, found a “massive gap” between those costs and incomes for families without paid, with the income from the social security system for a couple able to cover just 46 per cent of costs compared to 55 per cent for a single parent.

The report noted those gaps were narrower than in England, where the figures stand at 37 per cent for a couple and 44 per cent for lone parents — a difference the charity attributed to policies such as the Scottish Child Payment and free bus passes for under-22s.

CPAG director John Dickie said: “Costs are still massively outstripping the incomes that parents both in and out of work have available to them.

“Too many children are still growing up in families that just don’t have the income they need to enjoy what the general public believes is a minimum socially acceptable standard of living.”

Urging the Scottish government to boost the Scottish child payment from £27.15 per child to £37.15, he added:

“Policies like the Scottish child payment, free school meals and free bus travel are all making a real difference but it is clear that next month’s Scottish Budget will need to do more to boost the incomes and reduce the costs ordinary families face.

“If ministers are serious about making further progress to reduce child poverty, resources need to be prioritised on increasing the real-terms value of the Scottish child payment as the most direct way to boost the income of families in and out of work.”

The Scottish government was contacted for comment.