To ask the Scottish Government what impact the second round of the child poverty practice accelerator fund is anticipated to have in advancing the First Minister’s mission to eradicate child poverty in Scotland. (S6O-03606)

I was delighted last week to announce round 2 of the child poverty practice accelerator fund, which supports the First Minister’s mission to eradicate child poverty. We will make available up to £500,000 this financial year to support projects to test new and innovative ways to support the mission. That builds on the fund’s first round, launched in 2023, which is supporting a range of work, including important early intervention. Local authorities and health boards are already undertaking transformative work to tackle child poverty, and the fund supports them to go further to address root causes.

The child poverty practice accelerator fund demonstrates how real investment in eradicating child poverty benefits families, our society and our economy. Under the plans put forward by the major Westminster parties, however, it seems that both the Tories and Labour are unwilling to make that investment, instead opting for low taxes for high earners and painful public spending cuts. Will the cabinet secretary outline what actions she and the Scottish Government require from the incoming United Kingdom Government if we are to achieve the First Minister’s mission to end child poverty in Scotland for good?

As the First Minister and I have said in the chamber before, we stand ready to work with an incoming UK Government to not only tackle but eradicate child poverty. Mr Dornan is quite right to point out the choices that make that more difficult. As he said, both of the major Westminster parties are focusing on low taxes for high earners and painful public spending cuts, rather than the eradication of child poverty.

Given that, this year, the Scottish Government has committed more than £3 billion to policies to tackle poverty, it is disappointing that no change has yet been suggested down at Westminster. It is inevitable that that will make the Scottish Government’s job more difficult, but we are determined to do what we can within the fixed financial envelope that we have and the powers that are available to the Parliament.

The scale of the challenge that we face in Scotland is serious. As poverty levels have been static for the 17 years of this Scottish National Party Government, attempts to find new and effective approaches are welcome, but stakeholders will be concerned about how frustratingly slow the turnaround often is between learning about good practice and implementing it across the country. Indeed, in its recent report, the Poverty and Inequality Commission said that, in its next update on the child poverty figures, the Scottish Government

“cannot just point to actions already taken nor propose more small-scale tests of change.”

How will the cabinet secretary ensure that learning from the accelerator fund is used nationwide to give us whatever chance is left of meeting the statutory 2030 targets?

The Government remains absolutely committed to achieving the child poverty targets that have been laid down in statute. At the moment, the effect that the Scottish child payment is having is not yet showing up in the child poverty statistics, but our modelling suggests that it is having a very important impact.

What will not help is the £18 billion-worth of cuts that the Institute for Fiscal Studies has suggested that the spending plans of both Labour and the Conservatives will make in our public services. [ Interruption .] That makes it more—

Please resume your seat for a second, cabinet secretary. I will not have sedentary chitchat across the benches while someone else is speaking.

That makes it more difficult for us to eradicate child poverty. However, as I said in my original answer, we are determined to do everything that we can. Children and families in Scotland deserve no less of this Government or, indeed, of any incoming UK Government.

Question 3 has been withdrawn.