[UK] McConnell in poverty fight call

from The BBC

First Minister Jack McConnell has stressed that the fight against poverty must be stepped up.

Child and pensioner poverty has already been reduced, he said.

But he added Scotland was only 25% of the way towards the aim of eradicating child poverty and finding every person who can work a job by 2020.

Speaking at the STUC in Perth, Mr McConnell also urged unions to help cut the number of young people who were not in education, employment or training.

Mr McConnell said: "We are determined to step up our efforts to ensure that these aims are met - that by 2020, no child is living in poverty and that every person who can work has a job."

The first minister said that since devolution, good progress had been made on "the big issues", such as poverty, the economy, health and education.

Eradicating poverty

"I want a Scotland in which we continue to provide opportunity to the many, not the few, and in which we eradicate the poverty and social exclusion that can hold some of our citizens back," he said.

Scotland had already cut relative poverty rates affecting children and pensioners, lifting more than 210,000 children and 170,000 pensioners from absolute poverty since devolution, the first minister said.

"These are big gains, but they are only a start," Mr McConnell said.

"Poverty isn't just a problem for government to fix - it's a problem for all of Scotland.

"That's why we must continue to use all the power we have, individually and collectively, to eradicate poverty by 2020."