Fairer Funding to fight child poverty - Angus Robertson

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville

More than £60m in multi-year funding will be allocated through 45 grants to charities and third-sector groups across Scotland.

Subject to budget approval, the funding will target key areas such as health, education, poverty and culture, with £61.7m in 2025-26 and rising to £63.2m in 2026-27. This is a crucial step towards ensuring that organisations working to combat child poverty and deliver frontline services can plan ahead and use their resources effectively.

Speaking at The Gathering, the UK’s largest third-sector event, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville acknowledged the financial pressures facing charities. She stressed the importance of multi-year funding to provide stability, allowing organisations to focus on long-term solutions rather than short-term survival.

This initiative is the first step in mainstreaming multi-year funding agreements, reinforcing the Scottish Government’s commitment to Fairer Funding principles. As SCVO chief executive Anna Fowlie highlighted, voluntary organisations play a vital role in delivering essential services, and longer-term funding gives them the security they need to continue their invaluable work.

The SNP is committed to tackling child poverty head-on, ensuring those delivering frontline services have the support they need. The most recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation UK Poverty report identified that the gap between child poverty rates in Scotland compared to England and Wales will have grown, and that Scotland is now the only UK nation where child poverty is expected to fall by 2029.