Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2022-2026 - annex 8: children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment

5. How will the policy/measure give better or further effect to the implementation of the UNCRC in Scotland?

The Scottish Government remains committed to the incorporation into Scots law of the UNCRC to the maximum extent possible as soon as practicable. While urgently considering the most effective way forward for this important legislation, we continue work to implement the UNCRC. This means taking proactive steps to ensure the protection of children's rights, including the right to benefit from social security; the right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical and social needs and support their development; and the right to education that develops every child's personality, talents and abilities to the full. This Plan is committed to these ambitions.

The aim of the Plan is to reduce child poverty in Scotland and meet the four statutory child poverty targets set out in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017. The Plan sets out the policy interventions to be implemented during 2022-2026 to deliver on both interim and final targets.

The Plan builds on the progress of the previous Delivery Plan, 'Every Child, Every Chance' 2018-2022 and seeks to protect a range of children's rights (UNCRC 4) and to have a positive impact on children's wellbeing. It aims to improve parental access to fair work, reduce costs of living for families, provide greater help via social security, and improve children and families' quality of life.

In tackling the three key drivers of child poverty - increase income from employment, reduce household costs and maximise income from Social Security and benefits in kind - the Plan acts in the best interests of children, working to move them out of poverty (UNCRC 3).The Plan is guided by feedback from dedicated child poverty stakeholders and children and young people themselves (UNCRC 12). It focuses on the six priority families at higher risk of child poverty, working to mitigate the discrimination they often face (UNCRC 2).

The Plan brings together a range of policies offering cross-cutting, positive effects on children and families' wellbeing. The Plan enables parents' employment by increasing access to training and skills and working in partnership with employers to support fair work, as well as strengthening the essential services of childcare and transport (UNCRC 18). It also aims to maximise families' income from benefits through doubling the Scottish Child Payment to £20 per child and then further increasing the rate to £25, enhancing advice services to ensure families access the benefits available to them (UNCRC 26), and supporting the expansion of benefits such as free school meals (UNCRC 27) and the school clothing grant (UNCRC 26). The Plan also focuses on whole family wellbeing, including access to affordable, warm homes (UNCRC 27) and connections to the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding.

The Plan aims to give children the best start to life which includes post-natal care (for example, Baby Boxes) and realising the benefits of the expansion of Early Learning and Childcare (UNCRC 6, 24). The Plan also acts towards equality in education through the efforts of the Scottish Attainment Challenge (UNCRC 28) and puts forward policies which support children's opportunities for learning and growth (e.g. Scottish Mentoring and Leadership Programme) (UNCRC 31).

The Plan is aligned with the commitment to 'Keeping The Promise' (UNCRC 20, 25), recognising that reducing poverty levels can influence the rates of children and young people coming in to care. Furthermore, the Plan stands to benefit care experienced children and young people through The Promise Partnership Fund and Care Experience Grant, as well as supported access to mentoring and Family Nurse guidance for young mothers.