Blogs from The Poverty Alliance and guests.
Tackling poverty is a national mission with its very heart in our local communities. The Scottish Government shares the same objectives as The Poverty Alliance as we prepare for Challenge Poverty Week 2021. We want to improve the life chances of people living in poverty and we want to be part of the discussion about … Read more
Challenge Poverty Week has come at a grimly apt time this year, with the shameful cut to Universal Credit kicking in later this week and the most severe cost of living crisis in years looming. This is a stark reminder of how much work there is to do – but it must also be a … Read more
Challenge Poverty week comes at a time when far too many people are experiencing a perfect storm of austerity and cuts. Fuel prices are surging at the same time as National Insurance costs are increasing, and furlough support is ending. To make matters worse, the UK government is choosing this moment to cut Universal Credit payments by over £1000 a year. Almost every day I hear from constituents who are feeling stretched. They can see … Read more
Sarah Stocks, of Northern Star Associates, was commissioned by the Poverty Alliance – as part of the Get Heard Scotland initiative – to collate learning and practical approaches to include people with lived experience of poverty in local policy development. Here, she writes on the key insights contained in the resultant report: The people who … Read more
On a visit to a practice in Muirhouse last year, I was asked if I could estimate how many dementia patients they had on the books. Muirhouse Medical serves over 17,000 patients it’s striking to learn that those with dementia number fewer than 100. The reason for this comes down to poverty. The harsh reality is that people there are … Read more
Dr Laura Robertson is a Research Officer at the Poverty Alliance, and co-authored a new report – commissioned by Transport Scotland – on people living on low incomes’ experiences of public transport in Scotland. Across Scotland families and young people on low incomes are being priced out of using public transport due to high costs and lack of reliable, accessible transport. That’s the key … Read more
Neil Cowan, Policy and Campaigns Manager at the Poverty Alliance, writes on the need for the new Scottish Government to make solving poverty their priority. Election campaigns are big on commitments, on vision, and on rhetoric. The Scottish Parliament election campaign just passed was no different, with promises of recovery, transformation and renewal. But too often after elections … Read more
Tackling poverty has always been a priority for the SNP, as part of our ambitions to build a fairer, more equal country. In the last Parliament we introduced ambitious statutory targets to reduce child poverty and established the Poverty and Inequality Commission through our Child Poverty Act. Our ‘Every Child, Every Chance’ plan outlined our … Read more
Covid-19 has highlighted and entrenched inequalities within our society, so it is vital that the next Scottish Parliament is completely focused on recovery. Fully reopening our economy and getting people back to work is the first thing we need to do to tackle poverty. Next, we must address all the drivers of poverty and ensure … Read more
This is not a normal election. This is a pandemic election. Scotland’s deepest inequalities have been laid bare, and lessons of unity and pulling together have rung out. That is why this election I’m offering solutions not only for recovery from Covid-19, but also for the kind of future society I want to build – … Read more
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