The Scottish Child Payment is one of the most important policies introduced since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament back in 1999.

It is also one of the initiatives I am most proud of in my tenure so far as First Minister.

It helps families with cost-of-living pressures now and also invests in the long-term potential of children and young people who would otherwise be held back by the dire impact of poverty.

The Scottish Child Payment was launched in February 2021 and delivered £10 per week for all eligible children under the age of six. It was described by anti-poverty campaigners as a “game changer” at the time, providing direct financial support to thousands of families and carers.

The payment was increased to £20 per child per week earlier this year.

Around 104,000 children across Scotland are already getting the payment, and as of last Monday it will be increased again, this time to £25 per week. That represents a 150% increase within eight months.

The reach of the payment will be extended too. All eligible young people up to age 16 will now receive the Scottish Child Payment of £25 per week and there is no limit on the number of children in a family who can benefit.

This increase in and extension of the Scottish Child Payment has been described by experts and campaigners as a “watershed” moment for tackling poverty in Scotland. 

Around 400,000 children in Scotland are now eligible for what is the most ambitious child poverty reduction measure in the UK. In fact, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has said if the payment was replicated across the rest of the UK, 5.3 million children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland could benefit.

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The contrast between this action by the Scottish Government and the shambolic events at Westminster in recent times is stark.

While the Scottish Government is putting £25 a week per child into the pockets of the lowest-income families, the UK Government is unleashing a crippling new wave of austerity.

The UK Government is doing so at a time when public services have not yet properly recovered from the last phase of Tory austerity - which proved that austerity is deeply damaging to people, businesses and public services.

We know that, although global factors are at play, much of the current economic malaise in the UK has been caused or exacerbated by the UK Government’s decisions - for example Brexit and more recently, the deeply misguided ‘mini-budget’.

Last Thursday, the UK Chancellor outlined a toxic mix of tax rises and spending cuts. Inflation is also eroding Government and household budgets. Household incomes over the next two years alone are projected to reduce in real terms by 7%. And, of course, Brexit - backed by both Labour and the Tories - continues to have a catastrophic effect on the UK economy.

The UK is now almost unique among wealthier countries in reintroducing austerity - an outlier amongst the world’s wealthiest nations. It is the wrong approach and it will hammer people and public services across Scotland.

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The economic forecasts for the coming months are also even bleaker than predicted. The UK is already in recession - and the Bank of England is warning that it may be the longest period of recession in 100 years. Cutting public spending risks prolonging that recession, which in turn will hamper efforts to restore the public finances.

Over the coming days, the Scottish Government will scrutinise the numbers to understand precisely what the Chancellor’s statement means for next year’s Scottish Budget, which will be presented to Parliament in a few weeks’ time.

The most significant powers and resources to tackle the economic crisis we face rest squarely with the UK Government and it has so far failed to exercise these powers in a way that will support public services, tackle inflation, ease the cost crisis and reform the energy market for the longer-term.

The road ahead will be difficult for everyone. But the Scottish Government will do all we can - within our limited resources - to mitigate the impact of this Tory-exacerbated cost of living crisis on Scottish households and businesses and continue our work to build a fairer, greener and more prosperous Scotland

In other news, last week I got my Covid and flu vaccinations at Glasgow Central Mosque. We are all aware that the Covid virus is still circulating and many of us will know people who have had the virus recently.

The uptake across Scotland for both the Covid booster and flu jag has been really high - with more than 2.7 million winter vaccines being delivered since this year’s programme got under way. But vaccination is still as important now as it ever has been.

I encourage everyone who can get their winter vaccines to do so. Those aged 50 to 64-years-old are currently being invited to book an appointment and anyone who has missed an appointment can reschedule through the NHS Inform online booking portal.

I am very grateful to the many staff who are working hard to get these jags into as many arms as possible.