Scottish Government Cut of Over £600,000 to SLAB Funding for Citizens Advice Scotland Poverty and Advice Projects

That the Parliament notes with dismay that the number of children living in poverty in Scotland is reportedly over 230,000; understands that Citizens Advice Scotland has been advised that projects related to child poverty/benefits and income maximisation/debt will end due to the Scottish Government ending funding for the Scottish Legal Aid Board’s (SLAB) programme, Making Advice Work, which provides funding to Citizens Advice Scotland to carry out early intervention work with families, many of whom are among the poorest and most vulnerable in Scotland; notes that, in West Lothian alone, this programme reportedly helped 700 families in 2018, increasing their income by a total of £2 million; understands that, across Scotland, 25 jobs will be lost as a result of this funding reduction, affecting Citizens Advice Scotland projects in West Lothian, Dalkeith, Inverness, Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Penicuik, Galashiels, Peebles, East Dunbartonshire, Fife, Airdrie, Motherwell and Wishaw, North Glasgow and Argyll and Bute; calls on the Scottish Government to reverse this cut and ensure that Citizens Advice Scotland bureaux are properly funded to help people in greatest need, and believes that this decision contradicts the First Minister’s stated priority to alleviate poverty and tackle inequality in Scotland.