Child Poverty Bill Stage 1 Debate Briefing

Shelter Scotland is appalled at the level of child poverty across Scotland and alarmed by the recent increase. More must be done by all partners to urgently address the causes, consequences and responses to poverty.

We strongly support the aim and intention of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill and the introduction of statutory targets for reducing child poverty and interim targets which will help with monitoring and accountability.

We believe however, that the targets introduced by the Bill do not adequately represent housing costs and welcome the recommendation that the Committee should look again at how household income is calculated.

It is vital that the measurement mechanisms and Measurement Framework and indicators are right before the statutory targets are introduced to ensure successful and meaningful delivery.