Both Scottish charities are holding a parliamentary event today where they will press MSPs to support a bill which would include initiatives to change the debt regime to ensure children are not trapped in, or pushed into, poverty.

Low-income families across Scotland are facing a growing debt crisis, with public debts such as council tax arrears, rent, and school meal debts trapping them in an unbreakable cycle of poverty. Aberlour’s research and frontline experience found that 75 per cent of the total debt supported by their Tayside Hardship Fund was to pay off debts owed to public bodies.

Amongst other measures, the charities are advocating for permanent support to parents in school meal debt, as well as a unified, compassionate approach to debt management that prioritises the well-being of families and children over punitive collection practices.

Mike Dailly, principal solicitor & solicitor advocate at Govan Law Centre, said: “GLC belives that the public debt crisis campaign with the Aberlour Children’s Charity is a vital initiative to shift the dial on child poverty. Around 240,000 children live in relative poverty in Scotland and sadly this unacceptable number has remained fairly static since 2007”.

“While the Scottish Child Payment has helped, it hasn’t lifted 100,000 children out of poverty as the Scottish Government claim. The evidence for this claim relies upon projected modelling based on a range of policy assumptions”.

“We know that the uncoordinated and often aggressive collection of debt by public bodies can trap or push families into unnecessary poverty and misery”.