Third Scottish Assembly for Tackling Poverty

THE third Scottish Assembly for Tackling Poverty will take place on 15 and 16 March 2012, at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, it has been announced. 

The Poverty Alliance explains on its website: "Over the two day conference, we will be focusing on inequality and alternative ways of working during a time of economic austerity."

Confirmed speakers so far include: Owen Jones, author of Chavs; Anna Coote, New Economics Foundation; Philip Blond, ResPublica, and many more.

PA continues: "We will hear from inspiring community projects from across Scotland on how they are affected by these issues and what they are doing to combat them. This year we will be focusing on the themes of child poverty, fuel poverty, sustainable communities, welfare reform and alternative economic models."

The event will bring together community groups, national organizations and political representatives at a Scottish and UK level.

Ghazala Hakeem, commissioner of the Poverty Truth Commission, will be among the speakers at the event.

Please click here to see the full two day agenda for the Assembly. Please click here to see the evidence session descriptions. To register for the Assembly, please click here.

Childcare costs pushing parents out of work

SCOTTISH families on low-incomes are being forced to leave work and turn down jobs because they cannot afford to pay for childcare, a new survey shows.

The research has ben carried out by Save the Children and Daycare Trust. Despite many parents cutting back on their spending, a third of those living in the worst poverty (defined as a yearly income of less than £12,000) have ended up in debt as a result.

With Scots parents paying the highest in the UK for childcare, Save the Children is urging the Scottish government to take action at the earliest opportunity. The charity is calling for an extension of free entitlement to childcare and nursery education for the poorest families in Scotland. More here.