Baby box delivers savings for families

More than 292,000 baby boxes have been delivered to expectant parents – providing them with around £420 worth of essential items for their newborn.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said Baby Boxes give families reassurance that regardless of their circumstances, they will have access to essential items needed for the first six months of their newborn’s life.

Ms Somerville announced the delivery milestone on a visit to Home Start Falkirk to hear how the charity supports families with young children and meet parents who have benefited from the Scottish Government’s unique Baby Box programme.

Ms Somerville also reiterated calls for the UK Government to announce more funding to help families struggling with the cost of living when it publishes its Spring Budget.

She said:

“The Baby Box is a welcome gift for every baby born in Scotland. It ensures that every family with a new-born has access to essential items needed in the first six months of a child’s life, like clothes, books and thermometers – saving expectant parents around £420.

“We want to ensure every child has the nurturing care they need to have the best start in life and to fulfil their potential. Supporting parents is key to improving outcomes for children and young people.

“As a result of the Scottish Government’s policies such as the Scottish Child Payment, it is estimated that 100,000 fewer children will live in relative poverty in 2024-25. But we will always be fighting poverty with one arm tied behind our back if the UK Government is delivering policies that result in the opposite outcome.

“The Spring Budget should be an opportunity for the UK Government to take action needed to transform the lives and outcomes of people across the UK, including introducing an Essentials Guarantee to ensure social security benefits adequately cover the cost of essentials.”

Background

As of Sunday 1 March 2024, 292,720 Baby Boxes have been delivered to families across Scotland since the launch of the scheme in 2017.

Modelling estimates that Scottish Government policies will keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty and 70,000 children out of absolute poverty in 2024-25, with the respective child poverty rates 10 percentage points and 7 percentage points lower than they would have been without these policies.

If the UK Government were to remove the two-child limit and reinstate the family element in Universal Credit, it is estimated this would lead to a further 10,000 fewer children in Scotland living in relative and absolute poverty in 2024-25, while introducing an Essentials Guarantee would lead to a further 30,000 fewer children living in relative and absolute poverty. Cumulatively these changes are estimated to lift 40,000 children out of relative poverty in 2024-25.

APS Group (Scotland), which has the managing agent contract for Scotland’s Baby Box, conducted a cost analysis which determined that if parents were to buy the box and all the contents individually, the cost would be approximately £429.