Projects aiming to fight child poverty invited to apply for cash grants

Local projects helping to combat child poverty can apply for a grant of up to £80,000, the Scottish Government has said.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the fund will help the Scottish Government’s aim to eradicate child poverty.

The child poverty practice accelerator fund (CPAF) has opened for its second round of applications, with a maximum of £500,000 to be shared across local initiatives.

Speaking ahead of a Holyrood debate on eradicating child poverty, Ms Somerville said: “Eradicating child poverty is a central mission for the Scottish Government and we must find new and innovative ways to achieve this.

“Measures such as the Scottish Child Payment are estimated to keep 100,000 children in Scotland out of relative poverty this year, but we are determined to go further.

“The child poverty practice accelerator fund will support projects that target the root causes of child poverty and create lasting change in our communities.

“Local authorities and health boards are already undertaking transformative work to tackle child poverty and this fund will support them to go further and share best practice, to help make child poverty a thing of the past.”

Applications can be submitted by councils and health boards which may choose to work with local organisations, with the process closing at 5pm on July 12.