Following the Scottish Government’s announcement to introduce a new Scottish Child Poverty Bill, what does the future hold for both policy-makers and practitioners working to meet the needs of Scotland’s most disadvantaged children?

Event

Given UK Government's decision to repeal large parts of existing UK-wide legislation, the Scottish Government has announced its decision to introduce new legislation to support income-based child poverty targets.

What would a new Scottish child poverty bill need to include? With more than 1 in 5 Scottish children recognised as living in poverty, what would new legislation be able to achieve? What duties and responsibilities would it place upon different services and stakeholders? What can we learn from good practice initiatives across a range of sectors where child poverty can be tackled effectively?

Join this Holyrood event to gain an up-to-date brief on current policy to tackle child poverty in Scotland and priorities for the future legislation. Learn what responsibilities this legislation could place on your organisation and how service providers can work together to improve outcomes for our poorest children.

Key learning objectives

• An up to date brief on current policy for addressing child poverty
• The opportunity to examine potential priorities for new legislation and what responsibilities this may place on your organisation
• Learning from peers and good practice initiatives across a range of services

Agenda*

09:15      Registration and refreshments

10:00      Introduction from the Chair

• Rt Hon. Henry McLeish, Former First Minister of Scotland

Session 1: Child poverty in Scotland: Future directions for policy and legislation

What should a new Child Poverty Bill for Scotland look like? In what ways can new legislation be successful in tackling child poverty? What specific responsibilities would it place on different organisations and agencies? Across all policy areas, how could the new social security powers help tackle child poverty?

10:05     The challenges of combating poverty: what role for Government​?

• Naomi Eisenstadt CB, Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality

10:25     Tackling child poverty through new social security powers

• John Dickie, Director, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland

10:45     The role of legislation in challenging poverty

• Professor John McKendrick​, Glasgow School for Business and Society, Glasgow Caledonian University

11:05      Questions and discussion

11:20      Break and refreshments

Session 2: Early interventions to tackle child poverty

What needs to change in order to give children the best start in life? In what ways can child poverty be mitigated through early interventions? What can be achieved in different local authority areas and how can we promote joined-up working across departments? Early interventions in health, education, housing, and justice.

11:40     Panel discussion:

• Councillor Jacqueline Henry, Convener of Education and Children Policy Board, Renfrewshire Council​
• Dr Jonathan Sher, Independent Consultant and Author
• John Carnochan OBE QPM, Independent Consultant and Former Director of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit
• Sue Palmer, Chair, Upstart Scotland

12:40      Questions and discussion

13:00      Lunch and networking

Session 3: Supporting families out of poverty

How can we ensure the long-term child poverty reduction targets are met? What are some examples of practical steps which can be taken across different sectors to support families out of poverty?

13:50     Good practice in the third sector

• Ghazala Hakeem, Vice-Convener of the Board, Faith in Community Scotland

14:10     Poverty and housing

• Shona Stephen, CEO, Queens Cross Housing Association

14:30      Questions and discussion

15:00      Round-up and closing remarks

15:15      Close of event

*Agenda is subject to change without prior notice

Venue and Costs

• Discounted rate: £149 + VAT (Social enterprises / Voluntary / charitable organisations with an annual income of less than £1m)
• Reduced rate: £199 + VAT (Central government departments and agencies, local authorities, universities, colleges, NHS, police, professional associations and voluntary / charitable organisations with an annual income over £1m)
• Full rate: £249 + VAT (Commercial organisations e.g. plc, Ltd, LLP)

For more information, please contact Alexander Burton by email: Alexander@holyrood.com or by phone: 0131 285 1695