Duty on public bodies to reduce poverty is welcome aim but Scot Gov can make a difference right now
Responding to today's (18 July) proposal by the Scottish Government to place a duty on public bodies to make reducing poverty and inequality part of their decision making, Scottish Green MSP Andy Wightman said:
“Giving public bodies a duty to tackle poverty and inequality makes sense but the Scottish Government needs to show leadership on the issue. Some of the decisions it is taking clearly have no regard for fairness, such as cutting aviation tax which is a giveaway to businesses and the wealthy, and its failure to reform the still highly regressive council tax.
“Green MSPs have made tackling poverty a priority, successfully pressing Scottish Ministers to rule out benefit sanctions on devolved work programmes and roll-out income maximisation schemes, and we have amended the Child Poverty Bill so that ministers have to say whether they will use new powers to top-up reserved benefits. Adding £5 a week to Child Benefit would lift 30,000 children out of poverty.
“Poverty and inequality has become embedded in our communities and while a new duty on public bodies is a welcome long-term aim, there is more the Scottish Government itself can do to make a difference right now.”
Consultation on socio-economic duty for public authorities to tackle inequalities