Ruth Boyle

Money, money, money: unpacking Scotland’s public purse In recent years it has felt like we’re firefighting, caught in cycles of short-term, emergency spending with no route towards creating a long-term plan for Scotland’s finances.  This often stifles con...

Following the Budget, we're delighted to highlight our upcoming #SCVOGathering event:

💰Money, money, money: unpacking Scotland’s public purse

📆 Tues 4th Feb

@kezdugdale.bsky.social & @profnicolamcewen.bsky.social on the money behind Scotland's public policy landscape.

scvo.scot/the-gatherin...

News: Welcome for budget pledges on unjust two-child limit - The Poverty Alliance Responding to today’s Scottish Government draft budget, Poverty Alliance chief executive Peter Kelly said: “The two-child limit is a huge injustice that has no place in a compassionate society – becau...

Since it was introduced, the two child limit has been perhaps the most egregious of the so-called 'welfare reforms' of the 2010s.

Great to see the Scottish Government commit to get rid of it. Hopefully UK Government follows suit, and scraps even sooner.

www.povertyalliance.org/news-welcome...

Today's #ScottishBudget can help to end the injustice of child poverty. Our @ruthboyler was on @BBCRadioScot #GMS explaining how.

Chart showing estimated number of families and children affected by the two-child limit: GB

The two-child limit remains in place, and its impact will continue to grow as the policy affects an increasing number of children as time goes on.

We estimate that an additional 63,000 children will become affected by the policy between now and April 2025.

Peter Kelly opens our #MakingChange conference this morning with input on the “divided and divisive” context. How to we prioritise and work together in that context?

In the afternoon, we’ll be discussing how we keep hopeful for change with Amal Azzudin, Claire Telfer of Save the Children and Jonathan Cox of Citizens UK.

www.youtube.com/@PovertyAlli...

🫖 Grab a cup of tea for 10AM and join the conversation with #MakingChange

In the morning, you will hear a keynote address from Danny Sriskandarajah of New Economics Foundation, alongside input from Roz Foyer of the STUC and Laura Young.

We’ll be talking about what we’ve learned from campaigns to-date, where we go next, and how we build new coalitions for change.

Tomorrow is Poverty Alliance annual conference- we’ll be talking about how we can make change happen.

We’re sold out, but you still have the chance to join the opening & closing plenaries online. We’ll be live steaming between 10.00-11.10 and 14.50-16.00.

www.youtube.com/@PovertyAlli...

Tomorrow is the @povertyalliance.org annual conference. This year we are discussing (and planning) how to 'Make Change Happen'.

The event is sold out, but you can join the opening and closing sessions online by clicking the link below tomorrow at 10am...

www.youtube.com/povertyallia...

As I reflect on the work that led to this moment..I think of the communities who face the harsh realities of inequality every day, whose resilience and courage continue to fuel my commitment to creating change. I accept this honour with gratitude, but also with a renewed sense of determination. May we all continue to challenge ourselves to dream bigger, act bolder, and fight harder for a world where poverty and inequality are no longer the norm but a chapter in our history that we have learned from, and overcome.

Huge congratulations to @satwatr.bsky.social on being awarded an honorary doctorate from Glasgow Caledonian University today for her tireless work on inequalities and campaigning for social justice. Very well deserved!

Read more: opfs.org.uk/get-involved...

New coalition calls for ‘overhaul’ of Scotland’s devolved taxes More than 50 organisations and individuals have joined together to form the Tax Justice Scotland group.

Tax Justice Scotland’s message to first minister John Swinney, finance minister Shona Robison and leaders of other parties is “it’s increasingly clear that fairer — and sometimes higher — taxes are essential to support a more dynamic, prosperous and sustainable economy”.

#TaxJusticeScotland

It’s disappointing that sanctions feature so strongly today - it’s like your employer sitting you down on your first day of a new job and outlining all the ways you can be sacked. Sanctions cause stress, anxiety & make it harder for people to get into work. It’s time for engagement, not compliance.

From compliance to engagement Rethinking the use of conditionality in our social security system

We agree that Job Centres needs to focus on person-centered support. But research from NEF shows that this requires trust: 61% of people required to attend regular JCP appts say threat of sanctions make it harder to have a supportive relationship with the Job Centre. neweconomics.org/2023/08/from...

Last chance over the weekend to apply for this post in my team at NEF - I'm looking for someone with great quantitative analysis skills, an understanding of how to critique and develop policy, a good political antenna, and a passion for improving lives in low-income households

The #ScotBudget is a chance to invest in the Scottish Government’s national mission to eradicate child poverty.

Transformational change requires transformational investment.

Read this great blog on what we’d like to see on December 4th 👇🏻

I need more detail on what constitutes a butter appropriate knife, and you have to copyright that term!

🚨 122,000 emergency food parcels were provided by food banks in the Trussell community in Scotland in just 6 months.

1 in 3 of these were for children.

No child in Scotland should be facing hunger - we need urgent action to address this & ensure everyone can afford the essentials

Guest blog - what's the most effective way of eradicating fuel poverty? - The Poverty Alliance Matt Cole,Chair,Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel Read the Panel's Recommendations for a Social Tariff! The Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel provides independent advice to Scottish Ministers on...

It's often called a 'social tariff' but what would just pricing for energy really look like in practice? A new guest blog from Matthew Cole, chair of the Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel, explains what they think needs to happen.
www.povertyalliance.org/guest-blog-w...

More than one in three children in poverty as UK deprivation hits record high Exclusive: Study finds almost quarter of UK population living in poverty, reaching the highest level this century

Bleak stuff from @joshhalliday.bsky.social. Highlights just how much heavy lifting the child poverty strategy needs to do in the spring, especially with benefits only increasing by 1.7%. Has to include scrapping the two-child limit & the benefit cap to be serious www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

Going to be hard to maintain this standard of post

We are delighted to be present at the Minimum Income Guarantee conference hosted by @povertyalliance.bsky.social. Dave Hawkey, senior research fellow, @ipprscotland.bsky.social kicks off the seminar this morning