By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS
From Turning the tide What it will take to reduce child poverty in the UK published by the Resolution Foundation, two days ago, at: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/, the above revealing graph and:
In 2017, the Scottish Government enshrined ambitious child poverty reduction targets into law. These targets require Scottish ministers to reduce relative child poverty in Scotland to below 10 per cent and absolute child poverty to below 5 per cent by 2030 (both measured after housing costs).50 Such ambition has led to Scotland enacting measures that directly boost the incomes of parents claiming means-tested benefits: the Scottish Child Payment, currently worth £1,400 per child per year; Best Start Grants (currently worth a total of £2,450 for the first child and £1,000 for subsequent children in three grants from pregnancy up to the start of school) and Best Start Foods (currently £5.30 per week during pregnancy and when a child is aged 1-3 and £10.60 per week when a child is under one), which help with the costs of pregnancy and looking after young children; and Free School Meals (FSMs), which were extended to all children in primary 4 and 5 in April 2022.
The Scottish Government has also used its devolved social security powers to pursue a different social security agenda to the UK as a whole, introducing mitigations for national policies that break the link between a family’s circumstances and their benefit entitlement, such as the benefit cap and the removal of the spare room subsidy (commonly referred to as the ‘bedroom tax’). And in December 2024, the Scottish Government announced its intention to “effectively scrap” the two-child limit in 2026 by introducing automatic mitigation payments to affected families.51 This commitment will require cooperation from the Department for Work and Pensions on data sharing, as well as new UK legislation to ensure that mitigation payments are not treated as income by the benefit system nor subject to the benefit cap.52 But it is difficult to envision the UK government completely blocking such an ambition; we therefore assume it will happen and include it in the projections presented in this report.
‘These income-boosting measures are projected to drive a (further) wedge between Scottish and English child poverty rates.‘
From the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, on 29th January 2025:
Child poverty rates in Scotland (24%) remain much lower than those in England (30%) and Wales (29%) and are similar (if slightly higher) than in Northern Ireland (23%). This is likely to be due, at least in part, to the Scottish Child Payment. This highlights the effect benefits can have in reducing poverty.
https://www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2025-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk
How are the ‘Scottish’ media covering these reports? None seem to have covered the Resolution Foundation two days ago and only the Herald reported on the JRF report last month.
BBC Scotland? Nothing on these two recent reports. Just this last March:
Why are these initiatives in the interest of all of us? Please read this:
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper [98!] and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/
The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Bro
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Makes me proud to be a Scottish citizen.
Jon Musgrave
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As we all know no good news from the SNP will be reported by the MSM BBC Scotland being the worst.
Prof.John I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
The Presiding Officer prevents the First Minister from answering a question on reserved matters after SNP MSP
@JackieDunbarSNPsays voters have been “hoodwinked by Anas Sarwar’s Westminster bosses”. #FMQS
Every time an SNP MP puts a question he is mocked along with the SNP Government so it just shows how our on Parliament is a waste of time for me it just makes it more important to get Independence.
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Correct
John
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Scotland’s colonial media just don’t like “good news” stories in Scotland.
Electoral Calculus forecasts the SNP will have 43 MP’s, Labour/Tories with 4 each and the Dumbs at 6. The Faragists will have 0.
Imagine how many seats the SNP would have if the media actually reported fully and honestly.
It wont matter. The EC forecast forecasts that the seats will break as .1 Lab 198/ Con 142/ Reform 192/ Dumbs 66. Coalition beckons!
Will the Britnats lock Reform out of government as in Germany? You can bet with Downing Street calling, they wont.
SNP–win, win!
gavinochiltree
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Sorry that should read Lab 178/ Cons 142/ Reform 192/ Dumbs 66.
Have I morphed into BBC gavinochiltree?
Giving the Red-Tory Labourites more than they deserve?
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‘Reform’ are a gift to the LabCons..re Scotland’s election in 2026..
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If you wish the MSM and even BBCScorchedland to report on Child Poverty levels in Scotland then the Scottish Government needs to stop doing a better job than England in reducing it !
The sooner they can report that things are worse up here than in England due to that baaaad SNP the sooner they will take heed . Simples !
This is what is laughingly called the Free Press !
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This article at TUS is about ‘Child Poverty levels’ dropping in Scotland due to the policies of the SNP government, while mitigating against EngGovs’ disgusting austerity on the poor, ie it is NOT ‘worse up here’!
The fact that Labour HQ’d in London while grifting with their lying at Holyrood, voted AGAINST (abstaining is voting against imo) the Scottish budget should have people clamouring for Scotland to be independent, but incessant lies by the English controlled BritNat ‘msm’ does manage to CON people far too much as their agenda is clearly to oust the SNP and pronto.
I consider the English BBC and their faux Scottish arm of the EngGov controlled outlet, not to be anything like the ‘free press’ at all…Free press means news outlets like Democracy Now in the US, what you read here at TUS, The Scotland Channel on Ytube and of course Broadcasting Scotland website and Ytube channel, and other blogs/vlogs and independent news channels etc.
The BBC and Eng/BBC deployed in Scotland, tout their disgraceful propaganda and peddling BritNatEngGovs’ lies about all manner of things re Scotland and the SNP/ScotGov.
Saor Alba.
.
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will you be advertising the post of research assistant?
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Child poverty reduced in Scotland. Thank goodness.
The SNP to reintroduce the pensioners winter fuel payment.
SNP win, win, win. More support for SNP and Independence.
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