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Chamber and committees

Tackling Poverty and Building a Fairer Country

  • Submitted by: Shona Robison, Dundee City East, Scottish National Party.
  • Date lodged: Monday, 07 June 2021
  • Motion type: Motion For Debate
  • Motion reference: S6M-00263
  • Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Tuesday, 08 June 2021

Motions as amended

That the Parliament agrees that tackling child poverty and building a fairer, more equal country should be a national mission for the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and society; acknowledges that action is required across all the drivers of poverty reduction, including delivering fair flexible work, affordable, accessible childcare, sustainable transport options, affordable housing, and reductions in the costs of living; commits to tackling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty and inequality; recognises the impact of UK Government welfare cuts and policies that exacerbate poverty, including the two-child cap, which could remove £500 million from the incomes of families in Scotland; recognises the positive action of the Scottish Child Payment and notes the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland's assessment that removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit will effectively "knock out the benefits that the Scottish Child Payment brings into families", undermining the work and mission of the Scottish Parliament to eradicate child poverty; welcomes the pandemic relief payment scheme, which will provide an essential additional income for families this year; calls on the Scottish Government to introduce a permanent doubling of the Scottish Child Payment at the earliest possible opportunity; notes that a Universal Basic Income would have helped many through the COVID-19 pandemic and calls on the UK and Scottish governments to work together to bring forward pilots at the earliest possible opportunity; commits to exploring funding options to end the benefit cap; urges the UK Government to devolve all employment and social security powers to the Scottish Parliament, in order that it may take the further steps needed to make workplaces fairer, including through payment of the real Living Wage, and to establish a Minimum Income Guarantee, so that everyone has enough income to live a dignified life, and calls on the UK Government to match the ambition of the Scottish Parliament to eradicate child poverty.


Supported by: Ben Macpherson, Christina McKelvie

Vote

Result 68 for, 53 against, 0 abstained, 8 did not vote Agreed

Scottish National Party

For
  • George Adam
  • Karen Adam
  • Clare Adamson
  • Alasdair Allan
  • Tom Arthur
  • Colin Beattie
  • Keith Brown
  • Siobhian Brown
  • Stephanie Callaghan
  • Willie Coffey
  • Angela Constance
  • Graeme Dey
  • Natalie Don-Innes
  • Bob Doris
  • James Dornan
  • Jackie Dunbar
  • Annabelle Ewing
  • Fergus Ewing
  • Jim Fairlie
  • Joe FitzPatrick
  • Kate Forbes
  • Kenneth Gibson
  • Jenny Gilruth
  • Mairi Gougeon
  • Christine Grahame
  • Neil Gray
  • Emma Harper
  • Clare Haughey
  • Jamie Hepburn
  • Fiona Hyslop
  • Bill Kidd
  • Richard Lochhead
  • Gordon MacDonald
  • Fulton MacGregor
  • Rona Mackay
  • Ben Macpherson
  • Gillian Martin
  • John Mason
  • Michael Matheson
  • Màiri McAllan
  • Ivan McKee
  • Christina McKelvie
  • Paul McLennan
  • Stuart McMillan
  • Marie McNair
  • Jenni Minto
  • Audrey Nicoll
  • Ash Regan
  • Shona Robison
  • Emma Roddick
  • Shirley-Anne Somerville
  • Collette Stevenson
  • Kaukab Stewart
  • Kevin Stewart
  • John Swinney
  • Michelle Thomson
  • Maree Todd
  • Evelyn Tweed
  • Elena Whitham
  • Humza Yousaf
Against
0
Abstained
0
Did not vote
  • Ruth Maguire
  • Angus Robertson
  • Nicola Sturgeon
  • David Torrance

Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

For
0
Against
  • Jeremy Balfour
  • Miles Briggs
  • Donald Cameron
  • Jackson Carlaw
  • Finlay Carson
  • Sharon Dowey
  • Russell Findlay
  • Murdo Fraser
  • Meghan Gallacher
  • Maurice Golden
  • Dr Pam Gosal MBE
  • Jamie Greene
  • Dr Sandesh Gulhane
  • Jamie Halcro Johnston
  • Rachael Hamilton
  • Craig Hoy
  • Liam Kerr
  • Stephen Kerr
  • Dean Lockhart
  • Douglas Lumsden
  • Oliver Mundell
  • Douglas Ross
  • Graham Simpson
  • Liz Smith
  • Alexander Stewart
  • Sue Webber
  • Tess White
  • Brian Whittle
Abstained
0
Did not vote
  • Alexander Burnett
  • Edward Mountain
  • Annie Wells

Scottish Labour

For
0
Against
  • Jackie Baillie
  • Claire Baker
  • Neil Bibby
  • Sarah Boyack
  • Foysol Choudhury
  • Katy Clark
  • Pam Duncan-Glancy
  • Rhoda Grant
  • Mark Griffin
  • Daniel Johnson
  • Monica Lennon
  • Richard Leonard
  • Michael Marra
  • Pauline McNeill
  • Carol Mochan
  • Paul O'Kane
  • Alex Rowley
  • Anas Sarwar
  • Colin Smyth
  • Paul Sweeney
  • Mercedes Villalba
  • Martin Whitfield
Abstained
0
Did not vote
0

Scottish Green Party

For
  • Ariane Burgess
  • Maggie Chapman
  • Ross Greer
  • Patrick Harvie
  • Gillian Mackay
  • Mark Ruskell
  • Lorna Slater
Against
0
Abstained
0
Did not vote
0

Scottish Liberal Democrats

For
  • Beatrice Wishart
Against
  • Alex Cole-Hamilton
  • Liam McArthur
  • Willie Rennie
Abstained
0
Did not vote
0

No Party Affiliation

For
0
Against
0
Abstained
0
Did not vote
  • Alison Johnstone

Original motion text

That the Parliament agrees that tackling child poverty and building a fairer, more equal country should be a national mission for the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and society; acknowledges that action is required across all the drivers of poverty reduction, including delivering fair flexible work, affordable, accessible childcare, sustainable transport options, affordable housing, and reductions in the costs of living; commits to tackling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty and inequality; recognises the impact of UK Government welfare cuts and policies that exacerbate poverty, including the two-child cap, which could remove £500 million from the incomes of families in Scotland; recognises the positive action of the Scottish Child Payment and notes the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland’s assessment that removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit will effectively “knock out the benefits that the Scottish Child Payment brings into families”, undermining the work and mission of the Scottish Parliament to eradicate child poverty; urges the UK Government to devolve all employment and social security powers to the Scottish Parliament, in order that it may take the further steps needed to make workplaces fairer, including through payment of the real Living Wage, and to establish a Minimum Income Guarantee, so that everyone has enough income to live a dignified life, and calls on the UK Government to match the ambition of the Scottish Parliament to eradicate child poverty.


Accepted amendments

Motion ref. S6M-00263.4

Tackling Poverty and Building a Fairer Country - Amendment 4 - Amendment

Submitted by: Maggie Chapman, North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party, Date lodged: Monday, June 7, 2021

Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Result 70 for, 50 against, 0 abstained, 9 did not vote Agreed


Defeated amendments

Motion ref. S6M-00263.1

Tackling Poverty and Building a Fairer Country - Amendment 1 - Amendment

Submitted by: Miles Briggs, Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date lodged: Monday, June 7, 2021

Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Result 28 for, 71 against, 22 abstained, 8 did not vote Disagreed


Motion ref. S6M-00263.2

Tackling Poverty and Building a Fairer Country - Amendment 2 - Amendment

Submitted by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Date lodged: Monday, June 7, 2021

Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Result 26 for, 94 against, 0 abstained, 9 did not vote Disagreed


Motion ref. S6M-00263.3

Tackling Poverty and Building a Fairer Country - Amendment 3 - Amendment

Submitted by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, Glasgow, Scottish Labour, Date lodged: Monday, June 7, 2021

Supported by: Foysol Choudhury, Paul Sweeney
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Result 54 for, 67 against, 0 abstained, 8 did not vote Disagreed