4,124 CHILDREN ACROSS MIDLOTHIAN AND EAST LOTHIAN BENEFIT FROM SCOTGOV CHILD POVERTY MISSION

Low income families in Midlothian and East Lothian will benefit from a £320 uplift before Christmas as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty.
 
Colin Beattie welcomed the payments which Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison highlighted during a debate on the commitments in the SNP Scottish Government’s Programme for Government which aim to create a fairer society.
 
Families eligible will receive payments of £160 per child in October and again in December. Two Bridging Payments of £100 have already been made which takes the total to £520 this year.
 
The cash is equivalent to the Scottish Child Payment - a £10-a-week benefit to assist with the costs of caring for a child aged under six years old. The Scottish Government will extend the Scottish Child payment to all eligible under-16s by the end of 2022 and are committed to double the payment to £20 per week as quickly as possible.
 
The Social Justice Secretary highlighted the payments in the Scottish Parliament just a day after the six Tory MPs failed to vote to stop the UK government’s plans to cut the incomes of six million people across the UK by £1040 a year - the biggest cut to welfare since the 1930’s.
 
Commenting SNP MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Colin Beattie said:
 
“I know that many families in Midlothian are finding it hard just now. The impact that the pandemic has had on household finances is real, and has only been made worse by the cost of Tory’s obsession with Brexit and their unrelenting cruel austerity agenda.
 
“I am pleased that in Scotland, we have an SNP Scottish Government doing right thing by its citizens with these payments meaning £211,200 in the pockets of 2,112 low income families in Midlothian and £201,200 in the pockets of 2,012 low income families in East Lothian.
 
“The Scottish Child Payment is already the most ambitious anti-poverty measure currently being undertaken anywhere in the UK and we have committed to doubling it to £20-a-week per child as soon as possible in this parliamentary term.
 
“It’s clear that building a better future for children in Midlothian, and right across Scotland, is of at the top of the agenda in the SNP’s Programme for Government.
 
“As the Tories plough on with their indefensible move to cut £20-a-week in Universal Credit from those who need it most, the SNP Government are using the powers we have to provide real, practical help for families in Scotland. It’s crystal clear that the only way to keep Scotland safe from Westminster cuts is to become an independent country.”