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In his regular column for the Record, the First Minister says child poverty is already falling in Scotland – but more work needs to be done to eradicate it altogether.
The First Minister with Olympic gold medal-winning legend Sir Chris Hoy
At next year’s election, the need for Scotland to choose a better future with independence will be central to my campaign. And for me, nothing sums up the need for us to take all decisions in Scotland more than the issue I have made my number one priority in government – ending child poverty.
In a country as rich and successful as Scotland, I cannot bear the thought that even one child is growing up suffering from poverty. But of course it is not just one – it is far, far too many. This type of suffering should be a thing of the past – and that is why the powers of independence matter.
In Scotland, the SNP Government has taken significant steps to improve the situation of families who are struggling and to give their children the best possible start in life. Policies only available in Scotland, like the Scottish Child Payment, are making a real difference, helping to keep thousands of children out of poverty ever year.
It is real progress – but we need to go further. Yet every step of the way we find ourselves being held back by UK Governments choosing to take forward policies which they know make child poverty worse. That is something I have never been able to get my head around. The idea that I could be presented with a policy that pushes more children into poverty and give it the green light is just completely alien to me.
But that is what successive UK prime ministers have chosen to do – and that is what we are up against in Scotland. It feels like for every step forward we take, Westminster is determined to drag us back.
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But we are seeing progress in Scotland. Child poverty here is falling, it is much lower than south of the border and we are predicted to be the only part of the UK where it will continue to fall. That is what happens when we take some of the decisions on child poverty in Scotland – and I think it perfectly makes the case for us taking all the decisions here rather than leaving too many in the hands of Westminster governments who choose to make the situation worse.
I am determined that we will end child poverty in Scotland. But to do that we need real change – and the only change that will work for Scotland is independence.
Exam success shows Scotland making progress
As First Minister, my days are usually filled with problems that need to be solved. That is the nature of the job. So it can be too easy to overlook good news and success stories.
That is exactly what we saw last week in Scotland in both our schools and in our NHS. The exam results showed higher pass rates across the board – at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher – as well as a reduction in the gap between pupils from the richest and poorest areas. It is testament to the hard-work of pupils and teachers.
In our NHS, it was confirmed that we are delivering the highest number of knee and hip operations on record, ensuring people get the support they need.
And we saw new evidence that the delivery of the RSV vaccine for pregnant women is ensuring newborn babies are around 80% less likely to be admitted to hospital with a potentially serious infection.
There is more to do to ensure our country is living up to its full potential. I am determined to get us there – but in the meantime, I think it is important that we celebrate the progress we are seeing.
Sir Chris is an inspiration
On Friday I met with Sir Chris Hoy to discuss raising awareness of prostate cancer. Sir Chris had already cemented his place as a national hero with the gold medals he brought home to Scotland – but his campaigning since his own cancer diagnosis has shown genuinely Olympian levels of courage. He is a true inspiration.
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