Save the Children's Better for Babies Report

That the Parliament understands that families with a baby under one year old, which is one of the Scottish Government’s six priority groups for reducing child poverty rates by 2030, have a significantly higher risk of experiencing poverty; recognises that, in the first 12 months, a baby’s brain grows rapidly and they begin to develop the building blocks that, it understands, will determine their future health outcomes, educational outcomes and earning potential; understands that evidence shows that experiences of poverty in a child’s first 12 months can impede this crucial development, more so than at any other time in their life, and lead to poorer outcomes throughout childhood and into adulthood; notes that, despite the harm that poverty can cause, over a third of families with a baby under one year old in Scotland are living in poverty; considers that there is a limited window in which to ensure that a baby gets the right start in life; believes that society must get it right for all babies, and agrees with new analysis from Save the Children, which, it understands, states that part of the solution is increased targeted investment in reducing child poverty rates in families with a baby.