To ask the Scottish Government what funding it has provided to the Child Poverty Action Group in each of the last three years, and what assessment it has made of the effectiveness of this expenditure.
Eradicating child poverty is a national mission and this Government’s top priority, and our Programme for Government sets out how we will continue to drive forward progress on child poverty and tackle the cost of living crisis facing households in the final year of this Parliament.
Through the Children, Young People, Families, Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) third sector fund the Scottish Government has provided core funding of £139,650 to the Child Poverty Action Group in 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 financial years. The funding supports staff, utility, building and equipment costs within the organisation to support delivery of grant funding outcomes associated with the delivery of tackling child poverty in Scotland.
The Scottish Attainment Challenge programme has also provided targeted funding to the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland of £152,479 in 2023-24, £158,415 in 202425 and £160,940 in 2025-26. This support has been critical in driving the development of Cost of the School Day approaches across Scotland, enabling the team at Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland to provide strategic leadership and engage with school communities, local authority partners, policymakers and the third sector, facilitating action on school costs and supporting children and families on low incomes.
As part of the Scottish Government's grant conditions, we ask all funded organisations to monitor and report their progress towards delivery of their funding outcomes to ensure appropriate use of public funds and value for money. Through this process we are aware that the Child Poverty Action Group met their funding outcomes in 2023-24 and 2024-25.