Five ways to target child poverty that won’t cost the earth

The Give Me Five campaign is calling for the Scottish Government to use its new powers to top up child benefit by £5 per week. But there are other ways to put money in the pockets of poor parents and carers that involve neither universal provision nor means testing.

No baby should be declared undeserving of support

PARENTS who were this week expecting their third patter of tiny feet must surely have had one eye on the clock as their puffed their way through the contractions. As if the occasion wasn’t momentous enough already, there was an added cash-prize twist. Think Deal or No Deal but with George Osborne instead of Noel

The Tory government’s hunt for ‘undeclared partners’ is not about money

Large-scale benefit fraud “crackdowns” are less about clawing back cash and more an attempt to degrade and humiliate anyone and everyone who relies on state support.

The success of Citizens Advice points to failure everywhere else

Scotland is fortunate to have a “safety net beneath the safety net” in Citizens Advice Scotland – but why is the first safety net full of holes?