Meeting of the Parliament 04 December 2019
The result of the division is: For 70, Against 22, Abstentions 0.
Motion, as amended, agreed to,
That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Fairer Scotland Action Plan, Shifting the Curve and the Life Chances of Young People in Scotland, Progress Report 2019; notes the steps being taken towards achieving a fairer and more prosperous Scotland, including the commitment to introduce the Scottish Child Payment, which is a brand new benefit to tackle child poverty head on; further notes the 2018 annual report on Welfare Reform’s estimate that UK Government social security spending will reduce by up to £3.7 billion in Scotland by 2020-21; acknowledges the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights 2019 report, which stated that the UK Government’s austerity cuts and welfare reforms are a key driver of serious hardship, increased food bank use and homelessness; regrets the rise in poverty in Scotland and believes that more ambition is required across government to tackle inequality and improve people’s quality of life; calls on the Scottish Government to address the barriers to benefit uptake and reduce housing costs; agrees that universal credit, the two-child cap and pernicious UK welfare reforms must be scrapped, and believes that tackling the climate emergency must be done in a fair way, recognising the growing inequalities and insecurities facing people across Scotland.