Listening to the voices from the frontline in Glasgow West
The UK Government has set up a Ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce to oversee the development and delivery of an ambitious cross-government Child Poverty Strategy to reduce and alleviate child poverty. The aim is to improve children’s lives and life chances now and tackle the root causes of child poverty in the long term.
I wanted to make sure that people working on the frontline in Glasgow West had the opportunity to input into the strategy, sharing their knowledge and every day experiences, and was very pleased to be joined by representatives from over a dozen local community groups at an event in Knightswood Community Centre on the 18th February. The event was also attended by Kirsty McNeill MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Scotland Office, who sits on the Taskforce.
Participants took park in discussion groups, considering key questions including:
- What are the key factors contributing to child poverty in the local area?
- What are the most effective actions we could take – at a local, regional, and national level – to alleviate these problems?
- What are the main asks of national government that would make the biggest difference to children in poverty locally?
The thoughts and experiences shared at the event have been submitted to the Taskforce, and a copy of the submission is below. I will provide updates on the work of and outcomes from the Taskforce as they become available.
