An Ayrshire MP has hosted a visit from Aberlour children’s charity at Westminster as they celebrate their 150th anniversary.
Elaine Stewart, MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock welcomed the charity on Tuesday, January 14, to help give an insight into child poverty across the country for MPs.
A roundtable discussion on child poverty and public debt was held by the Labour MP alongside Aberlour chief executive SallyAnn Kelly and Glasgow University academic Morag Treanor.
Employment Minister Alison McGovern MP also attended the roundtable which highlighted the impact of public debt on low-income families.
Aberlour have campaigned for the Scottish Government to write off money owed for school meals as ministers launched a £2.8m fund to cancel debt owed by struggling families.
The charity is now calling on MPs to help stop low-income families being aggressively pursued for debts like rent or council tax owed to public sector organisations.
Commenting, Ms Stewart said: “Even though Aberlour is Scotland’s children’s charity, I am glad that it also looks at tackling poverty through a UK-wide lens.
“After all, poverty doesn’t recognise borders. Under the current system, disadvantaged families are at risk of getting locked into a vicious cycle of welfare payments that only service debt.
“If different approaches can ease poverty on families, such as debt relief mechanisms, then we should look at them across the UK.
“I believe in a multi-pronged approach to end poverty which means getting our economy moving, our public services working and creating more decent well-paid jobs.”
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