Parliament committee aims to tackle child poverty in Glasgow

Glasgow is to be the focus for the Scottish Parliament’s social security committee as it begins looking at proposals aimed at tackling child poverty.

The committee will hold a formal committee meeting on March 27 at 2.00 pm in Glasgow City Chambers where it will hear from witnesses including Naomi Eisenstadt, the Scottish Government’s Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality and Jim McCormick from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation about the impact of child poverty and about the difference the new bill will make.

Introduced in February, the child poverty bill introduces measures which require the Scottish Government to meet certain targets for the reduction of child poverty. These include seeing less than 10% of children in relative poverty and less than 5% of children in absolute poverty by 2030.

Following the meeting, the Committee will meet with invited representatives including health and education practioners working in Glasgow to combat child poverty in an informal session to get their views on the Bill.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, committee convener Sandra White MSP said: “For a child growing up in poverty, the effects can last a lifetime. Health and education are impacted long after a child has grown. That is why we can all agree that there is no place for child poverty in Scotland.

“Our meetings in Glasgow will be a chance for us to hear from those working to tackle child poverty across Scotland. Our informal meeting will also allow us to speak to those working on the ground in Glasgow and to hear about their experiences of working with children affected by poverty. We want to know what is being done to address this issue and what impact the Bill will really have.”

Tickets for the formal Committee are FREE but registration is required. Members of the public wishing to attend should contact 0131 348 5200.