Ben Thurman
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benthurman.bsky.social
Ben Thurman
@benthurman.bsky.social
Working to end child poverty at @savechildrensco.bsky.social. Trustee at Edinburgh Garden Partners.
Reposted by Ben Thurman
All political parties agreed to the Scottish Child Poverty Reduction targets in 2017.

240,000 children in Scotland are in poverty.

@jrf-uk.bsky.social have launched a toolkit to ensure that the manifestos of these political parties will meet these targets by the end of the next parliament.
June 2, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
📢 Join our team! ⭐️

We're looking for an Impact & Learning Manager to help us better understand, evaluate, and amplify the impact of our work in Scotland.

📅 Closing date: 17 June

Full details ⬇️

jobs.savethechildren.org.uk/jobs/vacancy...
Save the Children
jobs.savethechildren.org.uk
June 2, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
‘I feel rage’: I talk to the head of Save the Children about child poverty in Scotland. She tells me how 1-in-3 families with babies live in poverty, that political failure by both govts brought us here and why the public want action not more hard heartedness

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2513666...
‘I feel rage’ Save the Children boss demands action on Scottish child poverty scandal
Claire Telfer is one of the country’s most influential charity chiefs. She tells our Writer at Large why the public wants politicians to do more…
www.heraldscotland.com
May 4, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀

The Herald has teamed up with 23 of the country's leading children and anti-poverty charities to call for the Scottish Child Payment to be increased to £40 per week

heraldscotland.com/news/2512502...
April 30, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
Alongside @cpaguk.bsky.social, @barnardos.org.uk & others, we wrote to Keir Starmer to urge him to deliver the real change that children & families need.

Without ambitious action, it could be the first time child poverty significantly rises under a Labour government.

1/2
PM sent stern warning on what his child poverty legacy will be - see full letter
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been warned he must make cutting levels of child poverty a personal priority or risk leaving a dire Labour legacy on the issue
www.mirror.co.uk
April 22, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
Today's child poverty stats show that positive policy choices, including the Scottish Child Payment are making a difference, but not nearly enough is being done to give all children a decent start in life.
March 27, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
We fear child poverty levels will rise as a direct result of the welfare reforms announced today.

870k children live in families that receive PIP & 290k of these are already in poverty.

A reduction in income for families with a disabled parent means more children will suffer.
March 18, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
A statement from our CEO Moazzam Malik on the news that the government is cutting the UK aid budget to fund an increase in defence spending:
February 25, 2025 at 1:02 PM
An absolute joy to run a workshop with members of our parent panel at #SCVOGathering today.

If you want to find out more about Changing the Story ➡️ www.savethechildren.org.uk/content/dam/...
February 4, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
We'll be at the #SCVOGathering next week! We're looking forward to our fully booked workshop on Changing the Story about child poverty, designed and delivered with members of our parent panel.
Save the Children Scotland (@savechildrensco.bsky.social)
savechildrensco.bsky.social
January 31, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
Investing in social security and policies that get cash into the pockets of low income families cuts child poverty.

Relying on growth and trickle down economics doesn’t. @jrf-uk.bsky.social’s report shows the urgency of scrapping the two child cap & delivering an Essentials Guarantee. 👇
4.3 million children are in poverty

UK govt won’t see progress on child poverty by 2029 even with high economic growth 📢

Our analysis shows under our central scenario only Scotland will see child poverty rates fall by 2029 in part due to social security policies 1/5
January 29, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
Child poverty rates in Scotland remain too high with 1 in 4 children being held back from reaching their full potential 💔

This is despite welcome progress that has been made through important initiatives like the introduction of the #SCP

A thread 🧵(1/4)
January 7, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Good to see an end to the two child limit - every child should get the support they need to thrive. But too many families are struggling *right now* and more is needed to eradicate child poverty.

#ScotBudget

👇
December 4, 2024 at 4:57 PM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
Our response to the #ScotBudget. A welcome for moves on the two-child limit, but a reminder that there are 240,000 children in poverty in Scotland.
www.povertyalliance.org/news-welcome...
December 4, 2024 at 4:41 PM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
Scottish Government has committed to ending the two child limit. Hope the UK Government is paying close attention! It shows tough choices come down to priorities.

This policy increases poverty, leaving families cold and parents skipping meals to try and make budgets stretch.
1/2
December 4, 2024 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by Ben Thurman
I had the pleasure of speaking about early learning and childcare in Scotland. We know that cost and lack of flexibility is still a major barrier for work, particularly for mothers. High quality childcare that flexes around the needs of low income families is needed: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Why is there less free childcare for under-threes in Scotland?
In England, Fiona would qualify for 15 hours of funded childcare per week, cutting down on the extra care she needs to pay for.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 2, 2024 at 11:45 AM