Local MP Seamus Logan this week backed a crucial campaign to help children in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East Constituency facing poverty.
The MPs’ support came after attending a key Parliamentary event hosted by Aberlour Children’s Charity.
The event’s purpose was to raise awareness of the pressing issue of public debt, such as council tax, rent arrears and even school meal debt. The event highlighted how debts to public bodies, such as Councils and government agencies like the DWP, trap children and their families across the UK in poverty.
In addition to raising awareness of the devastating impact of public debts, including school meal debt, on child poverty, Aberlour and other campaigners called for urgent government intervention to support struggling families.
Mr Logan heard from Aberlour’s Chief Executive SallyAnn Kelly and Professor Morag Treanor of the University of Glasgow, who presented research on the link between public debt and child poverty.
Aberlour’s #EndSchoolMealDebt campaign has successfully secured the write-off of school meal debts totalling £2.8m for more than 30,000 children in Scotland this year. They now want to see this write-off happening across the rest of the UK too.
More broadly the charity wants to see a permanent end to the crippling impact of public debt by preventing people from getting into debt in the first place, for example through extending free school meal eligibility to all low-income families across the UK.
Commenting after the meeting, Seamus Logan MP said:
“Hearing from Aberlour about the support they offer children has highlighted the heartbreaking reality of public debt and child poverty. Their campaign to #EndSchoolMealDebt, underscores how urgent action is needed to support families and ensure that no child in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency or anywhere else in the UK, goes hungry or is burdened with debt.
“We must reform how public debt is recovered and prioritise support over punishment. We must work to create a society where every family has the opportunity to thrive, free from the crushing weight of debt and poverty.”
SallyAnn Kelly, Chief Executive of Aberlour said:
“At Aberlour, we support some of society’s most disadvantaged children and families. The UK is facing a debt crisis that demands urgent and radical action. Public debt is a key factor in entrenching and increasing child poverty, and those burdened by debt need support, not punishment.
“We were delighted to meet with Seamus Logan MP to discuss our work and the need for government intervention to support children and families in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East Constituency. Only by ending the crushing impact of the debt burden on disadvantaged families, will we enable them to thrive. The welfare state should be a safety net, not a financial trap.”
