Lord Jim Wallace, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, has joined more than 120 organisations across Scotland in a letter calling for the First Minister to double the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s budget.

Child poverty is rising in every local authority in Scotland, with one in four children in Scotland growing up in poverty even prior to the pandemic. A coalition of over 120 anti-poverty organisations, children’s charities, community groups, think tanks, trade unions, faith leaders and academics have joined the call, outlining in their letter to the First Minister that doubling the payment would ‘signal that ending child poverty will be a defining priority for this Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament’.

The letter, published in August and co-ordinated by members of the End Child Poverty coalition in Scotland, states: “We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty, evidenced in the setting of statutory child poverty targets, introducing the Scottish Child Payment and the upcoming incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

These steps have laid the foundation for tackling child poverty in Scotland and we have been delighted that they have been supported across Scotland’s political spectrum.

“This cross-party agreement was also evident in May’s Holyrood elections, when all of Scotland’s five main political parties committed to doubling the Scottish Child Payment. Such political consensus is welcome, and provides the opportunity for your government to act quickly and decisively in doubling the payment now.”

The letter was sent as debt help charity Christians Against Poverty (CAP) Scotland predicted a sharp rise in debt and poverty when the £20 Universal Credit uplift is

removed by the UK Government in October.

The charity has published a new report, Shipshape or sinking ship? which uses academic indicators to assess people’s financial and mental wellbeing.

This report highlights the need to keep the £20 a week Universal Credit uplift to ease the financial challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the launch of the report, CAP Scotland’s National Director Emma Jackson said: “The easing of Covid-19 restrictions doesn’t mean an end to the impact it’s having on people’s personal finances. With all the challenges families across Scotland have been facing, many will be carrying forward the financial impact for years to come in the form of household debt.

“The UK Government is planning to make one of the biggest overnight cuts in history, by reducing Universal Credit and Tax Credit claimants’ money by £20 a week and continuing to ignore those on legacy benefits.”