Somerville: Reforming Universal Credit could lift 40,000 children out of poverty

Up to 40,000 children in Scotland could be lifted out of poverty over the next year if the UK made changes to Universal Credit, Scotland’s Social Justice Secretary has said.

Shirley-Anne Somerville claimed that would be the impact if Westminster took “key steps” to reform the payment, including abolishing the two-child cap on payments and introducing a so-called “essentials guarantee” – which would aim to ensure everyone on the benefit has sufficient cash to cover basic living costs.

Ms Somerville urged reform as she called on Westminster to adopt the “rights-based approach” to social security that she said is taken by the Scottish Government.

Holyrood’s Social Justice Secretary also said the UK Government should replicate the Scottish Child Payment, which goes weekly to eligible low income families for each child they have.

With initiatives like this in place, Ms Somerville – who is in London on Monday to hear about the experiences of tackling poverty there – said the Scottish Government had “been ambitious and shown leadership”.

She stated: “Modelling estimates that 100,000 fewer children will live in poverty in 2024-25 as a result of the Scottish Government’s policies.

“The UK Government must follow the example of our rights-based approach to social security, which is making a real difference across Scotland, and UK ministers should also look to replicate our game-changing Scottish Child Payment across the UK.”

She added: “It is estimated that the UK Government could lift 40,000 children out of poverty in Scotland in 2024-25 if they took key steps to reform Universal Credit, including by introducing an essentials guarantee and abolishing the two-child limit.”

During her visit to London, Ms Somerville will meet representatives of the Feathers Association charity, which works with children and young people, to hear about its experiences of tackling poverty.

She will go on to tell economists and policy experts about efforts in Scotland to create a social security system based on the principles of dignity, fairness and respect,

A spokesperson for the UK Department for Work and Pensions said: “We recognise the last few years have been tough which is why we have provided one of the biggest cost-of-living support packages in Europe, preventing 1.3 million people in the UK from falling into poverty in 2022-23, and we’re also going further in April by uprating benefits and pensions to support millions of people on the lowest incomes.

“Work is the best route out of poverty, and since 2010 we have reduced the number of workless households by one million while our £2.5 billion Back to Work Plan will help thousands, including in Scotland, to find and stay in work while becoming more financially secure.”