Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney has announced £5.8m in fresh funding for organisations working to tackle child poverty, ahead of the publication of a new national strategy later this week. The money, drawn from the £50m Whole Family Wellbeing Fund for 2026-27, will be shared among seven projects supporting vulnerable children and families across the country.
During a visit to Kilmarnock on Monday, Swinney said eradicating child poverty remained his top priority and pointed to lower child poverty rates in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK. He stressed that no child should be worrying about basics such as food or heating, and said his government was working to build a “seamless and tailored” support system that could respond quickly and flexibly to people’s needs.
The First Minister confirmed that the experiences of children and families have shaped the forthcoming Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, which is due to be set out in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday. He said ministers were seeking to work “in harmony” with charities and the wider third sector so that services “come together as one” to offer a brighter future for young people nationwide.
Charities and local initiatives across Scotland will benefit from the latest funding package. Aberlour will receive almost £2m to support its mother and child recovery homes, which help women address addiction issues without being separated from their children, while a separate project enabling GPs to offer direct support to people experiencing poverty will receive £1.88m.
In Case You Missed It:
Grow Your Own Routes, a programme run by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs in partnership with six other charities, has been allocated £1.26m to continue its work with families affected by substance use. A further £320,000 will go to Foundations for Families, which identifies and supports young people considered at risk of criminal exploitation.
Smaller but targeted awards will support a series of place-based initiatives. The Inverclyde Transformation Initiative is set to receive around £250,000, Open Kindergarten will benefit from about £75,000, and the Dundee Pathfinder Fairer Futures Partnership will receive £50,000 to bolster local efforts to reduce child poverty.
With official figures showing child poverty has fallen in Scotland in recent years, the government will hope the new funding helps sustain that trend. Swinney, however, acknowledged that “even one young person growing up in poverty is one too many”, underlining that the forthcoming delivery plan will be central to stepping up the fight against deprivation in the years ahead.
