Child Poverty

That the Parliament welcomes the Scottish Government’s revised Child Poverty Strategy for Scotland, recognising widespread stakeholder support for the continued focus on maximising household resources, improving children’s life chances and developing sustainable places; further welcomes the Scottish Government’s commitment to provide free school meals for all children in P1 to P3 and the increase in early learning and childcare provision to 600 hours a year for three and four-year-olds and the most vulnerable two-year-olds; acknowledges that the gains on child poverty that have been achieved during the lifetime of the Parliament are being reversed by the welfare cuts and reforms of the UK Government, and recognises that it is only when the Parliament has full control over welfare policy and spending that it will be able to properly address child poverty in Scotland.