ANTI-POVERTY PAYMENT COULD BENEFIT 13,300 CHILDREN IN FIFE

Published date : 09 Sep 2020

“GAME-CHANGER” BENEFIT CENTRAL TO SNP AMBITION TO TACKLE CHILD POVERTY

Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP, Jenny Gilruth, has welcomed new figures showing that an estimated 13,300 children across Fife could benefit from the Scottish Government’s ground breaking anti-poverty payment.

The Scottish Child Payment will be worth £10 per child for low-income families by the end of 2022, with introduction for under-6s starting by early 2021.

Latest figures from the Scottish Fiscal Commission estimate that 194,000 children aged under six in Scotland will be eligible for the new Scottish Child Payment – with around 13,300 children and families estimated to benefit in Fife.

The brand new benefit was described as a “game changer” and a “lifeline” by anti-poverty campaigners and is central to the SNP’s ambitions to tackle child poverty.

Commenting, Mid Fife and Glenrothes MSP, Jenny Gilruth, said:

“The Scottish Child Payment is an ambitious and ground-breaking new benefit which will directly tackle child poverty across the country.

“This support is needed more than ever, and when this additional £10 per week per child becomes available in February, it will be a lifeline for many such families in Fife.

“It will help reduce financial pressures and demonstrates the potential of social security to make a positive difference and reflect our society’s shared values of compassion and fairness.

“Tory cuts are driving too many families in Fife into poverty – but the SNP is determined to use every power at our disposal to help families make ends meet.”

ENDS

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