Our Children, Our Future.

Last week I was proud to support the Scottish Government’s proposals pledged its commitment to the youth of Scotland, by taking a landmark decision to provide free school meals for all P1-P3s from January 2015.

It’s a bold move that shows the Scottish Government is in touch with people who live in Scotland, and who have ambitions for a brighter future.

Based on the latest available figures, around 8148 pupils in the Aberdeenshire Council area, and 2787 in the Moray Council area will be eligible to benefit from these free school meals.

The new measures will save families at least £330 per child, a lunchtime special not to be sniffed at, as families seek to make savings wherever they can to stymie the economic downturn.

And this measure reaches far beyond putting food on the table. A well balanced diet has been shown to boost concentration levels in children as they grow and develop, which in turn leads to them successfully fulfilling their potential, for the good of themselves, and those around them.

And it’s not only the SNP saying this. The investment was welcomed across the board by the Scottish Free School Meals campaign, supported by a variety of charities such as Save the Children, Shelter Scotland and the Church of Scotland.

Extending free school meals for all children in early primary school years also takes away any stigma of means testing existing in the present system. It means that all children, whatever their home circumstances, will now benefit.

This universal approach will bring a huge boost to families all across Scotland as they deal with tax credit and benefit cuts, as well as soaring food and energy prices.

Looking after Scotland’s children will further be boosted over the next few years by the government’s £114m care package announced this week. As well as school meals, free childcare will be provided for every two-year-old from unemployed households in Scotland – around 8,400 children – by August 2014.

Parents in Scotland spend around 27 per cent of their household income on childcare, compared to the OECD average of 12 per cent, and the government is committed to doing what it can to shoulder some of this burden.

Extensive provision of early learning and childcare for all families is a hallmark of some of the most advanced and successful countries today. There is a wide range of evidence indicating the potential benefits of funded early learning and childcare, with all social groups benefitting.

I want Scotland to be the best country to grow up in, and the Scottish Government want to create opportunities that will make this a reality. We want to invest in the early years of childhood so that we can hold our heads high with the best childcare systems in Europe.

This means that we need to address child poverty in Scotland, not as an inevitable blight on our nation, but something that can be overcome, and this is the impetus behind these measures.

But as a devolved country controlled by Westminster, we can only go so far. With independence, a welfare system aligned with our education system would be able to tackle child poverty and educational under achievement in Scotland more effectively.

Currently Westminster controls tax, benefits and labour market policy, and Scotland controls education policy. One can undermine the other, such as when changes to welfare increase child poverty.

We know that investment in the early years can bring huge rewards in later life. If we want to make the most of Scotland’s people - our greatest asset - and help them flourish in a vibrant society and economy, it is essential to focus on their development at the earliest stages.