Charities share £20m to boost work tackling child poverty

The Scottish Government has announced millions in funding for charities as part of work to eradicate child poverty.

Ten charities will receive a share of a £20m fund in 2026-27 to deliver support to improve wellbeing, boost incomes, and help parents towards employment.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville will meet families in Dundee on Friday who have neurodivergent children, as the charity Mindroom plans to use the funding to expand into new areas of Scotland.

Somerville said: “We have made great strides in our ambitious mission to eradicate child poverty. Within the powers we have, we have boosted incomes while delivering a transformational cost-of-living support package.

“But we know that more needs to be done, which is why we are driving whole-family support. This is about making sure that people can access the help they need easily, as simply as possible, and as quickly as possible.

“To remove barriers, we need to empower local charities and local people and bring them together with other services so that there are clear and easy ways to access the right support, in the right place and at the right time.

“I am proud that this ambitious programme, which we will deliver in partnership with charities across Scotland, does just that.”

The charities involved have estimated that up to 35,000 families could benefit from the funding.

Borders Community Action will use the funding to work with 30 local charities under a new partnership to embed support in rural communities.

Home Start Caithness will bring together nine organisations to provide a one-step gateway to financial and wellbeing support in the region.

Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector will also receive funding and will co-ordinate a new partnership between more than 30 local organisations to deliver help specific to the needs of communities across the city.

Mindroom, a charity for neurodivergent children, will expand its support to Dundee, pairing parents with a family adviser.

Alan Thornburrow, chief executive of Mindroom, said the funding would allow the charity to help neurodivergent children on a “larger scale”.

He said: “We see the benefits that whole-family support brings to parents and children on a daily basis, so we are pleased to receive support from the Scottish Government to expand our services, including into Dundee.

“Neurodivergent children and their parents have historically found it challenging to access the right support, in the right place – but we are determined to be there for them, tailoring services to meet their individual circumstances and giving children the best start in life in the process.

“This funding will help us do so on a larger scale, enabling us to reach more people in varied communities. We look forward to pressing ahead with this work.”