Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 12 March 2026 [Draft]
12 Mar 2026 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
I thank the cabinet secretary for early sight of the statement. The Scottish National Party talks a good game on child poverty, but it has failed to back up those words with actions; it has failed to close the attainment gap, one in five children lives in poverty, and it has failed to make work a viable route out of poverty. Instead, it has funnelled billions into an ever-growing benefit bill.
What Scotland needs is a system that helps people to move beyond reliance on state support. Instead, under the current plan, the SNP appears to be content to manage poverty through a growing benefits budget, rather than tackling the structural issues that keep families trapped.
Many of the measures that have been announced in the statement sound good on paper, but, as we know, the SNP is often strong on rhetoric but light on delivery. The cabinet secretary is committed to increasing all benefits with inflation, but how much will that add to the already blooming benefit bill? How can the cabinet secretary justify that level of spending on social security when child poverty remains so high, and will the cabinet secretary address the underlying cause of poverty, rather than just diverting more and more public money into benefits?
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The next item of business is a statement by Shirley-Anne Somerville on the tackling child poverty delivery plan. The cabinet secretary will take questions at...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice (Shirley-Anne Somerville)
SNP
Eradicating child poverty is the Government’s top priority and a national mission that belongs to all of us. Today, I am pleased to publish the Scottish Gove...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The cabinet secretary will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I intend to allow around 20 minutes, after which we will move on to the ...
Alexander Stewart (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I thank the cabinet secretary for early sight of the statement. The Scottish National Party talks a good game on child poverty, but it has failed to back up ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
I am not entirely sure that Alexander Stewart did not write that speech before he got my statement and this version of the plan. If he was remotely listening...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
Mr Stewart.
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
I admit that high-level modelling was done on the Tories’ plans when they said that they would put a two-child limit on the Scottish child payment that would...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
I remind members who wish to ask questions to press their request-to-speak button.
Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
I apologise for forgetting to put my card in.I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of the statement and for the accompanying documents. The Child P...
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
I refer Claire Baker to annex 1 of the plan, which details how the two-child limit payment allocation has been invested. I mentioned some of that in my state...
Paul McLennan (East Lothian) (SNP)
SNP
Westminster’s cost of living crisis is hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. On top of ever-increasing energy costs, households across East Lothian contin...
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
Paul McLennan is right to point out the UK Government’s choice to continue some of the policies of previous Conservative Governments that, to me, exemplify a...
Roz McCall (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
Con
I welcome the focus on parental employment. As the cabinet secretary will know, I have been asking for that focus for the past four years, so I am happy to s...
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
To be clear, the money does not just go to the central belt. A number of local authorities, both urban and rural, wish to take part in the fairer futures par...
Christine Grahame (Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale) (SNP)
SNP
There is much to welcome in the statement. I will focus on the Scottish child payment, which, from April, will be £28.20 per child per week in qualifying hou...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
Can I make a plea at this stage, as I am conscious of the time and the number of members who still wish to ask a question, for more succinct questions and an...
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
Christine Grahame points to the delivery by the Scottish Government and the real impact that it makes across Scotland. All members can reflect on the number ...
Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
The SNP went into the 2021 election promising universal free school meals for all primary pupils. When in government, the roll-out to all primary 1 to primar...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
That is enough questions.
Monica Lennon
Lab
—the SNP will fulfil its promise to Scotland’s children?
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
It is not three, four or five questions: it is one question.
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
I am very proud of what the Scottish Government has delivered with the universal provision up to P6, our work to deliver based on Scottish child payment elig...
Clare Haughey (Rutherglen) (SNP)
SNP
It is hugely encouraging to hear about the ambitious action that the SNP Government is taking through its delivery plan, and I welcome the breadth of the mea...
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
Because of the Scottish Government’s actions, the proportion of children in Scotland who are living in relative poverty has reduced, with the 2023-24 rate be...
Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) (Green)
Green
The Poverty and Inequality Commission has told us that we will not meet the 2030 targets without additional social security support. Scottish Parliament info...
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
I was very grateful for the work that the expert group undertook to look at a minimum income guarantee. Although it raised some challenges and recommendation...
Willie Rennie (North East Fife) (LD)
LD
The cabinet secretary should have admitted that the Government has failed to meet its target on the poverty-related attainment gap and has also failed to mee...
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
That focus has always been there, as is demonstrated by the fact that previous plans have also looked at the root causes of poverty and how to tackle them. T...
Marie McNair (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the delivery plan and the impact that these measures will have on households in my constituency. Will the cabinet secretary set out more detail of ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville
SNP
I mentioned some of those measures in the answer that I just gave to Willie Rennie, but I will point again to the £9 million going to colleges through the RI...