09 Dec 1999
The First Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on Poverty between the Government and the devolved Scottish, Welsh and Irish administrations was held today at the Cabinet Office in London.
The meeting was attended by the Chancellor, Gordon Brown; Social Security Secretary Alastair Darling; Scottish Secretary John Reid; Welsh Secretary Paul Murphy; Scottish Government Minister for Children Sam Galbraith and Deputy Minister for Communities Jackie Baillie; Northern Ireland’s First Minister David Trimble, Deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon and Northern Ireland Minister George Howarth.
Commenting after this first meeting, Mr Reid said:
"Tackling poverty is one of our top political priorities. And as poverty so often begins at birth, eradicating child poverty is our prime target. Doing so effectively requires joined-up thinking and action across a range of reserved and devolved responsibilities. Today’s meeting provides a forum for the Government to work closely in partnership with the devolved Scottish, Welsh and Irish administrations. Today’s meeting - the first of many - has given us the chance to share our policies and ideas to give children the best possible start in life.
"The Government has already laid the foundations for tackling child poverty by setting in place the biggest ever increase in child benefit, the Working Families Tax Credit and the New Deal. As a result of these measures 60,000 children in Scotland have been lifted out of poverty. This is an encouraging start but there is still a long way to go.
"That is why the Government has set itself the ambitious target of eradicating child poverty within 20 years. By working in partnership with the Scottish Government we can make this happen. The Government’s prudent fiscal regime and policies to achieve fairness and social justice will deliver benefits to the whole of the UK. Taken together with the Scottish Government’s education and housing policies and its radical Sure Start initiative we are laying the foundations to tackle poverty at its root.
"By working together in a partnership of parliaments we can make the best possible use of our resources, tailored to the particular circumstances and needs of the people of Scotland."
1.The Joint Ministerial Committee on poverty is set up under arrangements which were set out in an Annex to the Memorandum of Understanding agreed between the UK Government and the devolved administrations in October. These Committees are consultative bodies rather than executive bodies, and will reach agreements rather than decisions. The participating administrations will be free to determine their own policies while taking account of JMC discussions. Nevertheless, the expectation is that the participating administrations will support positions that the JMC has agreed.
2. On child poverty, the UK Government decides on child benefit, child tax arrangements and levels of Income Support, while the Scottish Government decides on education, health and social services.