MINISTERS will today publish new proposals to tackle child poverty a week after a report warned tens of thousands of children in Scotland will be "locked in poverty" unless radical action is taken.

As part of the requirements of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, the Scottish Government must publish a plan and provide a ministerial statement at regular intervals.

Analysis by the IPPR think tank published last Wednesday found the government is on course to miss statutory targets, unless they are willing to increase the Scottish Child Payment and reform the Scottish Welfare Fund.

Social Justice Secretary, Shona Robison, said the fresh plan would "deliver bold and ambitious actions" to reduce child poverty.

"Every single child in Scotland deserves to become the very best they can be. We will deliver bold and ambitious actions in (the plan) that build on the foundations of the first delivery plan," she said.

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"It is this Government's national mission to tackle child poverty and our new delivery plan will include a range of immediate actions.

"By supporting today's children and through our longer term plans and ambitions, we will also ensure that child poverty remains lower into the future.

"We want to tackle deep seated poverty to break its cycle once and for all."

The Scottish Government, through the 2017 Act, pledged to reduce relative child poverty to less than 18 per cent by 2023-24 and drop it to less than 10 per cent by the end of the decade.

Recent statistics suggest around 26 per cent of children, around 260,000, were living in poverty in 2019/20.

Hitting the targets will mean lifting 80,000 children out of poverty in the next two years.

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"We will build on a range of factors to achieve our goals," the Social Justice Secretary said.

"We must help more parents into sustainable and fair work, strengthen social security and reduce household costs for low income families.

"We do not underestimate the challenge in front of us, particularly in light of the current cost of living crisis and international uncertainty."

When the Scottish Child Payment was first announced, at a level of £10 per week, per child, the Scottish Government estimated it would lift 30,000 children out of poverty.

However, despite the doubling of the payment, the IPPR predicted 30,000 children will be in poverty, and that’s before considering the impact of both the pandemic and cost of living crisis driven by rising food and fuel costs.

The Tackling Child Poverty and Destitution report, written by IPPR Scotland on behalf of the Trussell Trust and Save the Children, urged the government to double the payment again to £40.

The groups also called for an urgent review of  support offered through the Scottish Welfare Fund, with same day decisions for those applying for crisis grants and more consistency in paying out, rather than the ‘postcode lottery’ that can see people in different local authorities in similar situations receiving vastly different sums.