We need more funding than other councils to tackle child poverty

The recent figures showing that almost a quarter of all Scottish children live in poverty is a stark reminder of the need to go further and faster in efforts to tackle it.

But the variation across the country in the rates and impacts of child poverty also points to a need for a change in how poverty is addressed. In Glasgow, it is currently estimated that child poverty rates are at 32%, the highest in Scotland and more than twice that of neighbouring East Renfrewshire.

And across the six Scottish local authorities with the highest child poverty rates, there are almost twice as many children estimated to be living in poverty than in the six authorities with the lowest rates.

Glasgow’s deep-rooted and persistent levels of deprivation have been the city’s greatest challenge for many decades. More recently, years of Tory austerity, the cost-of-living crisis, rampant inflation, the impacts of Brexit and legacies of the Covid pandemic have compounded that.

As demanding as that context is, it is clear we have to not only redouble our efforts but also rethink how we address deprivation and inequality.

It’s been really encouraging to hear our new First Minister Humza Yousaf talk of his intentions to tackle child poverty in a more targeted way. And more recently, his deputy and finance secretary Shona Robison echoed that commitment to improving lives through reducing inequality in her Medium-Term Financial Strategy, including introducing reforms necessary to achieving Scotland’s goals.

There are, of course, no quick fixes here, no silver bullets to turn generational deprivation around. And that is made all the more difficult by the limited finances and powers the Scottish Government has to work with, while simultaneously mitigating Westminster policies.

But what the recent figures make clear to me is that if Scotland is to deliver on our aspiration to eradicate child poverty, then there’s a clear and pressing case for those parts of the country which have suffered longest and hardest from generational poverty to be targeted with more resource.

We already know that approaches based on the needs of particular places are making a difference across planning, economic development and delivering skills. Other areas, such as the islands, receive higher levels of public funding based on their geography.

But as it stands right now, the way in which finances are distributed to local government takes too little account of where poverty and deprivation levels are most acute.

So, in recent days I’ve written to Scottish Government colleagues urging them to talk to councils to reach an agreement on how we work together to redress the historically low priority given to tackling deprivation within the allocation of local government resources.

That won’t be easy. Acknowledging geographical inequality means directing funding to those parts of Scotland that need it most, not just here in Glasgow but also in other council areas like Dundee, West Dunbartonshire and North Ayrshire. And that will mean more affluent local authorities receiving less funding focused on addressing poverty.

But the time is absolutely right to grasp this nettle. The game-changing impact of policies like the Scottish Child Payment or the benefits of the Pupil Equity Fund are being undermined by the severity of the cost-of-living crisis, and Scotland’s progress in addressing the consequences of generational poverty is at risk of being lost.

Here in Glasgow, the SNP administration has made it a priority to focus on supporting the most vulnerable children and families and is proud of the difference policies like the Holiday Food Programme or the wraparound support provided by the Glasgow Helps service have made.

But the reality is we often have to divert resources away from other core council services to fund these crisis interventions, a cost other local authorities with much lower levels of poverty don’t have to bear.

None of this is to say that more affluent parts of Scotland don’t also need and deserve support. But what it does say is that in being better resourced to tackle the root causes of long-standing poverty, we can, over time, reduce the costs spent on mitigating the wider social consequences of poverty, creating a bigger pot for all of Scotland to share. What benefits the citizens of Easterhouse will also benefit the residents of East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire.

To be clear, I don’t just want to see changes in how funds are allocated. I also want to see more money go to local government as a whole. And it’s clearer every day that Scotland needs the powers of independence to finally eradicate poverty once and for all.

But right now, in the face of mounting hardships in our hardest-pressed communities, it’s vital that the local authorities working to tackle the highest levels of child poverty and all of its consequences receive more assistance than they have in the past.

I hope that colleagues within the Scottish Government and across all of Scotland’s local authorities give serious consideration to these suggestions. Glasgow’s door is open to progress these conversations further. Targeting child poverty is in everyone’s interests.