New Scottish secretary Ian Murray visited three community projects in Kirkcaldy during his first official trip since Labour took power.
Mr Murray joined newly elected Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy MP Melanie Ward at The Cottage Family Centre, Greener Kirkcaldy and the local foodbank.
Established in 1987, The Cottage provides support for local families and children in the Templehall area of the Fife town, which has consistently recorded high poverty levels in government statistics.
The visit comes as Mr Murray highlights the new government’s mission to support families and tackle poverty.
But Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is also facing calls from within his own ranks to do more by scrapping the “cruel” two-child benefit cap.
The rule means any family with a third child born after 2017 misses out of welfare support – with an extra 26,000 Scots impacted according to recent figures.
But Sir Keir ruled out immediately scrapping the Tory-era policy prior to the election, prompting sharp criticism from the SNP from within his own party.
Asked about whether he agreed with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar that the government should lift the restriction, Mr Murray said: “The prime minister has been clear that he doesn’t like the two-child cap and wants to see it gone.
“But he’s also being honest with the public. I think that’s a really good trait given what we’ve had over the last 14 years with the mess that the Conservatives have made of our country.
“Of course we want these things gone, to do things quicker, but the reality is that there’s no money to do that.
“As soon as we can grow the economy, generate the money that’s required, we’ll be in a position to do the things that we want to do.
“But let’s not loose sight of the fact that we’ve already committed to and started work on the review of Universal Credit, and of course the two-child cap is part of that.”
Housing among issues impacting poverty
Mr Murray said the government was also looking at the “plethora of other issues” impacting poverty rates, such as housing, which he said had come up time and again during his visit.
He said it was important to visit communities to see the impact of poverty, but also how organisations are stepping in.
“The whole point of a Labour is to reduce poverty and that’s why we’re here looking at some of these projects today,” he added.
Ms Ward said she was delighted to welcome Mr Murray to Kirkcaldy to show him the “brilliant” work being undertaken by the organisations he toured.
New MP praises Kirkcaldy’s community spirit
She said: “For me as a local MP, one of the real strengths we have locally is community solidarity.
“The Cottage, Greener Kirkcaldy and the foodbank are all brilliant examples of that.”
Speaking to The Courier, Gordon Brown, patron of The Cottage and the former MP for Kirkcaldy, welcomed Mr Murray’s decision to visit The Cottage.
He said: “The whole of Fife is delighted that in his first week in office, the new Secretary of Stare for Scotland, Ian Murray will be visiting Kirkcaldy’s Cottage Family Centre which is a UK-wide leader in delivering children’s services and is a pioneer of inspiring, practical strategies to combat child poverty which have kept children fed and in opportunity and their families afloat and in hope through the pernicious austerity and cost of living crises.”
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