Tackling Poverty and Building a Fairer Country
- Submitted by: Shona Robison, Dundee City East, Scottish National Party.
- Date lodged: Monday, 07 June 2021
- Motion reference: S6M-00263
- Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Tuesday, 08 June 2021
Motions as amended
That the Parliament agrees that tackling child poverty and building a fairer, more equal country should be a national mission for the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and society; acknowledges that action is required across all the drivers of poverty reduction, including delivering fair flexible work, affordable, accessible childcare, sustainable transport options, affordable housing, and reductions in the costs of living; commits to tackling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty and inequality; recognises the impact of UK Government welfare cuts and policies that exacerbate poverty, including the two-child cap, which could remove £500 million from the incomes of families in Scotland; recognises the positive action of the Scottish Child Payment and notes the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland's assessment that removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit will effectively "knock out the benefits that the Scottish Child Payment brings into families", undermining the work and mission of the Scottish Parliament to eradicate child poverty; welcomes the pandemic relief payment scheme, which will provide an essential additional income for families this year; calls on the Scottish Government to introduce a permanent doubling of the Scottish Child Payment at the earliest possible opportunity; notes that a Universal Basic Income would have helped many through the COVID-19 pandemic and calls on the UK and Scottish governments to work together to bring forward pilots at the earliest possible opportunity; commits to exploring funding options to end the benefit cap; urges the UK Government to devolve all employment and social security powers to the Scottish Parliament, in order that it may take the further steps needed to make workplaces fairer, including through payment of the real Living Wage, and to establish a Minimum Income Guarantee, so that everyone has enough income to live a dignified life, and calls on the UK Government to match the ambition of the Scottish Parliament to eradicate child poverty.
Supported by:
Ben Macpherson, Christina McKelvie
Vote
Result 68 for, 53 against, 0 abstained, 8 did not vote Vote Passed
Scottish National Party
- 60 for
- 0 against
- 0 abstained
- 4 did not vote
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For
- Adam, George
- Adam, Karen
- Adamson, Clare
- Allan, Dr Alasdair
- Arthur, Tom
- Beattie, Colin
- Brown, Keith
- Brown, Siobhian
- Callaghan, Stephanie
- Coffey, Willie
- Constance, Angela
- Dey, Graeme
- Don, Natalie
- Doris, Bob
- Dornan, James
- Dunbar, Jackie
- Ewing, Annabelle
- Ewing, Fergus
- Fairlie, Jim
- FitzPatrick, Joe
- Forbes, Kate
- Gibson, Kenneth
- Gilruth, Jenny
- Gougeon, Mairi
- Grahame, Christine
- Gray, Neil
- Harper, Emma
- Haughey, Clare
- Hepburn, Jamie
- Hyslop, Fiona
- Kidd, Bill
- Lochhead, Richard
- MacDonald, Gordon
- MacGregor, Fulton
- Mackay, Rona
- Macpherson, Ben
- Martin, Gillian
- Mason, John
- Matheson, Michael
- McAllan, Màiri
- McKee, Ivan
- McKelvie, Christina
- McLennan, Paul
- McMillan, Stuart
- McNair, Marie
- Minto, Jenni
- Nicoll, Audrey
- Regan, Ash
- Robison, Shona
- Roddick, Emma
- Somerville, Shirley-Anne
- Stevenson, Collette
- Stewart, Kaukab
- Stewart, Kevin
- Swinney, John
- Thomson, Michelle
- Todd, Maree
- Tweed, Evelyn
- Whitham, Elena
- Yousaf, Humza
Against
0Abstained
0Did not vote
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- 0 for
- 28 against
- 0 abstained
- 3 did not vote
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For
0Against
- Balfour, Jeremy
- Briggs, Miles
- Cameron, Donald
- Carlaw, Jackson
- Carson, Finlay
- Dowey, Sharon
- Findlay, Russell
- Fraser, Murdo
- Gallacher, Meghan
- Golden, Maurice
- Gosal, Pam
- Greene, Jamie
- Gulhane, Sandesh
- Halcro Johnston, Jamie
- Hamilton, Rachael
- Hoy, Craig
- Kerr, Liam
- Kerr, Stephen
- Lockhart, Dean
- Lumsden, Douglas
- Mundell, Oliver
- Ross, Douglas
- Simpson, Graham
- Smith, Liz
- Stewart, Alexander
- Webber, Sue
- White, Tess
- Whittle, Brian
Abstained
0Did not vote
Scottish Labour
- 0 for
- 22 against
- 0 abstained
- 0 did not vote
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For
0Against
- Baillie, Jackie
- Baker, Claire
- Bibby, Neil
- Boyack, Sarah
- Choudhury, Foysol
- Clark, Katy
- Duncan-Glancy, Pam
- Grant, Rhoda
- Griffin, Mark
- Johnson, Daniel
- Lennon, Monica
- Leonard, Richard
- Marra, Michael
- McNeill, Pauline
- Mochan, Carol
- O'Kane, Paul
- Rowley, Alex
- Sarwar, Anas
- Smyth, Colin
- Sweeney, Paul
- Villalba, Mercedes
- Whitfield, Martin
Abstained
0Did not vote
0Scottish Green Party
- 7 for
- 0 against
- 0 abstained
- 0 did not vote
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For
- Burgess, Ariane
- Chapman, Maggie
- Greer, Ross
- Harvie, Patrick
- Mackay, Gillian
- Ruskell, Mark
- Slater, Lorna
Against
0Abstained
0Did not vote
0Scottish Liberal Democrats
- 1 for
- 3 against
- 0 abstained
- 0 did not vote
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For
Against
Abstained
0Did not vote
0No Party Affiliation
- 0 for
- 0 against
- 0 abstained
- 1 did not vote
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Original motion text
That the Parliament agrees that tackling child poverty and building a fairer, more equal country should be a national mission for the Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and society; acknowledges that action is required across all the drivers of poverty reduction, including delivering fair flexible work, affordable, accessible childcare, sustainable transport options, affordable housing, and reductions in the costs of living; commits to tackling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty and inequality; recognises the impact of UK Government welfare cuts and policies that exacerbate poverty, including the two-child cap, which could remove £500 million from the incomes of families in Scotland; recognises the positive action of the Scottish Child Payment and notes the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland’s assessment that removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit will effectively “knock out the benefits that the Scottish Child Payment brings into families”, undermining the work and mission of the Scottish Parliament to eradicate child poverty; urges the UK Government to devolve all employment and social security powers to the Scottish Parliament, in order that it may take the further steps needed to make workplaces fairer, including through payment of the real Living Wage, and to establish a Minimum Income Guarantee, so that everyone has enough income to live a dignified life, and calls on the UK Government to match the ambition of the Scottish Parliament to eradicate child poverty.
Accepted amendments
Tackling Poverty and Building a Fairer Country - Amendment - Amendment
Submitted by: Maggie Chapman, North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party, Date lodged: Monday, June 7, 2021
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Result 70 for, 50 against, 0 abstained, 9 did not vote Vote Passed
Defeated amendments
Tackling Poverty and Building a Fairer Country - Amendment - Amendment
Submitted by: Miles Briggs, Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date lodged: Monday, June 7, 2021
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Result 28 for, 71 against, 22 abstained, 8 did not vote Vote Defeated
Tackling Poverty and Building a Fairer Country - Amendment - Amendment
Submitted by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Date lodged: Monday, June 7, 2021
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Result 26 for, 94 against, 0 abstained, 9 did not vote Vote Defeated
Tackling Poverty and Building a Fairer Country - Amendment - Amendment
Submitted by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, Glasgow, Scottish Labour, Date lodged: Monday, June 7, 2021
Supported by: Foysol Choudhury, Paul Sweeney
Current status: Taken in the chamber on Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Result 54 for, 67 against, 0 abstained, 8 did not vote Vote Defeated