The Scottish Government has announced ambitious plans to reduce the number of children living in “persistent poverty” to less than one in 20 by the year 2030.
Equalities Secretary Angela Constance visited Dundee on Monday to launch a public consultation on the new Child Poverty Bill, which is set to be unveiled next year
It aims to have less than 5% of Scottish children living in “persistent poverty” after housing costs are applied and vows to leave less than 10% of youngsters living in relative poverty after housing costs by 2030.
A series of other targets were set including aims to have fewer than 5% of children suffering from the more severe form of absolute poverty and for fewer than one in 20 children to be living in low-income homes that lack certain basic necessities.
During her visit, Ms Constance was at social engagement project, Dundee Fun and Food, located in the city’s Whitfield area.
She said the current statistics are “simply unacceptable”.
Whilst she admitted improving life chances for Scotland’s youth would not be a quick fix, Ms Constance insisted procedures are already in place which will help improve the lives of families across the country.
She said: “The consultation is very important because we want to hear people’s views.
“The broad pillars of the bill are first and foremost that we want to eradicate child poverty.
“There is no silver bullet or quick fix and governments have to be in this for the long haul until the job is done.
“There are 220,000 children who live in poverty in Scotland, and more than half of those are actually in households where someone is in work.
“So, in-work poverty is an area where we already focus on, but an area we want to focus more on.”
Ms Constance believes engaging with the public and third sector representatives will be crucial in tackling the issue.
She said: “We need to be taking action on the basis of what is going to work.
“That’s where consultations are important.
“We need to build on our existing comprehensive plan and take it forward faster.”
