Green MSP for Highlands says child payment is making a ‘vital difference’ to families
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A Highland Green MSP has claimed that one of the party’s key commitments in the deal with the SNP shows it is making a positive impact.
New figures show that nearly 10,000 families have benefitted from the weekly £25 Scottish Child Payment.
The payment, set at £5 per week and then raised to £10 per week, was introduced in February 2021. In April 2022 it was doubled to £20 a week thanks to the Bute House Agreement, which saw the Scottish Greens enter the Scottish Government for the first time.
In November 2022 the payment was increased to £25 a week, or £1300 a year, as part of the Scottish Government’s efforts to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and reduce child poverty.
Ariane Burgess, the Scottish Green MSP for the Highlands and Islands, welcomed the impact of the Scottish Child Payment for families in the region.
The figures that show that, by June 30 this year, the families of 9665 children in the Highland Council area have benefited from the payments.
She said: “I am so proud that the Scottish Child Payment is having such an important, positive and vital impact for families across the Highlands.
“Increasing the child payment was a key commitment in the cooperation deal between the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Government, and is one of the single most important achievements in our efforts to tackle poverty since devolution.
“I know that it is making a huge difference to the lives of parents and children in the Highlands. It is now a vital part of a Scottish social security system that is designed to give people dignity and respect.”
