Chamber and committees

Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission: Amendment 5

Submitted by: Julie MacDougall, Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
Date lodged: Wednesday, 02 September 2026
Motion type: Amendment
Motion reference: S7M-01022.5
Current status: Due to be taken in the Chamber on Thursday, 03 September 2026

As an amendment to S7M-01022, in the name of Shirley-Anne Somerville (Eradicating Child Poverty, the Scottish Government’s Defining Mission), leave out from "recognises" to end, and insert "notes that, by the Scottish Government's own admission, child poverty is above its 2023-24 interim target of 18%, meaning that approximately 210,000 children are still living in poverty; expresses its disappointment that, despite the buzzwords and branding of its title, Bringing Hope, Building Futures, the Scottish Government's tackling child poverty delivery plan for 2026-2031 will not reach the 18% target until 2031; acknowledges that child poverty cannot be tackled in isolation, but rather by the totality of Scottish Government's policies; believes, that, in particular, the combination of Scottish Government policies on taxation and business regulation as well as lagging educational attainment have a detrimental impact on the economy and, as a result, the incomes and job opportunities for families, which undermine the positive impacts of policies designed to reduce child poverty, and calls on the Scottish Government to commission an independent review into whether its taxation, business regulation and education polices have led to the higher than expected levels of child poverty."