Child Benefit

That the Parliament notes with concern the changes to child benefit announced by the UK Government and the impact that these will have in Scotland; considers the decision to remove or reduce this universal benefit for over 90,000 Scottish families to be unfair to those families and children; particularly notes the impact of the three-year freeze from 2011-12 to 2013-14 and the 1% uprating cap for child benefit in both 2014-15 and 2015-16, which means that a family with two children will lose £1,100; regrets that cuts to child benefit will directly impact on the wellbeing of children across Scotland and notes that the Department for Work and Pensions acknowledges that the UK Government's welfare cuts will lead to an increase in child poverty, and recognises that it is only through the full powers of independence that it can properly protect the universal benefits that produce fair and equitable outcomes.