Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026-2031 External Reference Group Minutes- September 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Julie Humphreys, Director, Tackling Child Poverty and Social Justice (Chair)
• Rachael McGruer, Deputy Director, Tackling Child Poverty
• Anna Ritchie Allan, National Advisory Council on Women and Girls/Close the Gap
• Jack Evans, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Claire Telfer, Save the Children
• David Reilly, Poverty Alliance
• Francesca Malila, CEMVO Scotland
• John Dickie, Child Poverty Action Group
• Katelin O’Neill, COSLA
• Lynne O’Brien, Aberlour
• Maria Marshall, Child Poverty Action Group
• Marianne Scobie, Glasgow Disability Alliance
• Matthew Sweeney, COSLA
• Megan O’Hara-Knight, Glasgow Disability Alliance
• Pippa Milne, SOLACE/Argyll and Bute
• Rachel McAdams, Public Health Scotland
• Satwat Rehman, One Parent Families Scotland

Guests-UKG colleagues

• Mairi Warrington, Child Poverty Unit Head Cabinet Office
• Lorraine Pearson, Analytical Lead, Child Poverty Unit.

Observers

• Professor Stephen Sinclair, Poverty & Inequality Commission

Secretariat

• Officials, Scottish Government

Apologies

• Sally Ann Kelly, Aberlour Children’s Charity
• Gregory Colgan, Chief Executive, Dundee City Council representing SOLACE
• Peter Kelly, Poverty Alliance

Items and actions

Item 1: Welcome, Introductions and review of actions from previous meeting

The Chair welcomed attendees to the fourth External Reference Group (ERG) meeting, noting the agenda and reviewed the completion of actions from the previous meeting.

Minutes from the previous meeting were agreed.

The Chair highlighted the published ERG page on gov.scot is available and all meeting minutes, as well as the Terms of Reference are now published there: https://www.gov.scot/groups/tackling-child-poverty-delivery-plan-2026-2031-external-reference-group/

Item 2: UKG/DWP Presentation

Cabinet Office (CO) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) officials provided an update on engagement and thinking in relation to the UK Government Child Poverty Strategy, and an overview of emergent plans for monitoring and evaluation.

The Group welcomed input from CO/DWP colleagues. In discussion, members reflected on:

• The importance of ensuring effective interaction and cohesion between devolved and reserved polices to maximise impact and avoid unintended consequences
• The importance of Whole Family Support approaches and how they best support families
• The pressing need for social security reform, alongside a focus on ensuring parents have access to rewarding sustainable employment
• The importance of ensuring the right support is in place for disabled people to ensure they can work

Item 3: Engagement update/internal policy development

A presentation provided by TCPPU colleagues gave an update on recent activity including:

Policy development – work to date and Challenge Sessions that took place during August 2025

Our review approach of proposals from across SG which were assessed based on:

• Impact & expected outcomes: Reach, impact, targeting, evidence base, measurable outcomes
• Deliverability: Resources, Complexity, Dependencies, Risks and Timeline (will this be delivered by 2030)
• Affordability: What funding is required and what is the funding availability

Next steps and key milestones for Delivery Plan development were discussed, and the Group were asked to consider particular their views around ongoing engagement with SG policy areas, data sharing, the role of employers (including the public sector) and intersectionality to support and maximise impact.

In discussion the Group noted:

• The importance of an intersectional lens in the implementation of policies rather than only just the framing, with the public sector equality duty cited as a particular example where there may be scope to do more
• The role of health boards as anchor institutions and opportunities to consider health boards as employers as well as procurers and services in terms of wider supply chains
• The importance of maximising the impact of existing spend at all levels of government
• Opportunities for greater alignment and join up with fair work and health building on current work with Public Health Scotland and One Parent Families Scotland

Item 4: Conclusions and Any Other Business

Members were thanked for their contributions to the meeting and actions would be taken forward accordingly. The next meeting will be in November, and the policy team would be in touch to firm up a date.