Report puts a price on the cost of bringing up children in Scotland
The Child Poverty Action group calls on the Scottish Government to bring forward benefit changes
A new report reveals the cost of raising a child in a two parent family in Scotland now costs a minimum £76,000, as people across the country worry about how they’re going to make ends meet with prices for food and energy spiralling.
The report from the Child Poverty Action Group, and from the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University, calls for the extra help from the Scottish Government – such as the extension of free school meals – to be delivered this year, and more done to ensure parents take up any extra support they're eligible for.
The charity claims the plans already in place could cut the cost of raising a child by a third.
Lone parents pay 25% more
The report finds that the minimum cost of bringing up a child in the UK, excluding childcare costs, is around £76,000 in a couple family and £103,000 in a lone parent family, and looks at the impact of Scottish policies such as the Scottish child payment, minimum school clothing grants, best start payments and free bus travel.
It concludes that once all primary-age children are entitled to free school meals it will make the cost of bringing up a child £1700 cheaper, and free bus travel has the potential to save £3000 in a lifetime.
The Scottish Government had planned to bring in universal free meals by August this year, but now says it will be delivered later in the parliamentary term.
John Dickie from the Child Poverty Action Group told MFR:
"Long campaigned for policies like the Scottish Child Payment, and the roll out of free school meals to primary school children, will make a real difference to families in Scotland with the cost of raising a child.
Pressure to speed up measures
"We need the Scottish Government to press ahead with the doubling of the payment, but also to double the bridging payments that school-age children are receiving until the roll out of that payment in December.
"We also need the timetable for rolling out free school means for primaries 6 and 7 brought back to this year so families can begin to benefit from this essential support when they're facing a cost of living squeeze.
"Unless we increase benefits and Universal Credit we know families are going to fall further behind and we know they are already making absolutely impossible choices between putting food on the table, paying the bills or getting further into debt."