Change to poverty definition will 'cast children adrift', says Alex Neil

Some 120,000 children whose parents work on low incomes will be "cast adrift" if the UK government changes its definition of child poverty, the social justice secretary has claimed.

Alex Neil urged UK ministers to focus on the root causes of child poverty and not on redefining how it is measured.

His comments came in a letter to the UK's work and pensions secretary.

The Department for Work and Pensions said eradicating child poverty was "an absolute priority".

A new way of measuring child poverty was announced by UK Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith earlier this month.

It followed a report claiming child poverty levels were "unacceptably high" across the UK.

Currently, a child is defined as being poor when it lives in a household with an income below 60% of the UK's average.

The Scottish government said the new definition would mean the UK government would no longer be required to take action to reduce the number of people living on low incomes.

Instead, the focus would move to "worklessness" and "educational attainment".

'Flawed plans'

Mr Neil said: "By changing the definition of child poverty, the UK government is hiding the true extent of the problem and casting adrift the 120,000 Scottish children whose parents are working on low incomes and struggling to pay their bills.

"The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions must rethink these flawed plans. They will only gloss over the impact of the UK government's austerity agenda and fail to show the shocking reality of its inexcusable attack on low-paid families.

"The Scottish government will continue to measure and report on the wide range of factors that drive child poverty including income, educational attainment and health outcomes.

"Our sophisticated measurement framework was developed with experts and leading children's organisations and is helping us to understand the full scale of the problem and find the most effective ways to address it."

He added: "Around 210,000 children are living in relative poverty after housing costs are paid, but these numbers are likely to soar in coming years because of cuts to social security.

"Reforms to tax credits alone will reduce the incomes of between 200,000 and 250,000 households in Scotland, with families facing almost £700m of cuts."

'Meaningful change'

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "Eradicating child poverty is an absolute priority for this government, and we have consistently argued that it is not enough to tackle the symptoms without also tackling the underlying causes.

"Our new approach will drive effective government action by focusing attention on making meaningful change to children's life chances."

Tam Baillie, Scotland's commissioner for children and young people, said: "The UK government thinks the best way to eradicate child poverty is to stop counting it and neglect all legal obligations to protect children's interests.

"The UK government doesn't need to be told about the impact of its policies: it knows that children in poverty die earlier, have fewer qualifications and suffer more health problems. It just doesn't care.

"These are the outcomes of policy choices freely made by the UK government and it is a scandal."