South Scotland MSP Carol Mochan has urged the Scottish Government to change its approach to public debt collection and make debt recovery methods fairer and more proportionate.
During Challenge Poverty Week, the Scottish Labour MSP questioned the First Minister on the public debt crisis, highlighting its impact on child poverty and noting that current debt recovery systems often push families further and deeper into poverty.
The MSP urged the First Minister to support the necessary legislative and policy changes required to tackle the crisis. The First Minister indicated he was happy to engage with Ms Mochan on this issue.
The most common debt of this kind is council tax arrears, but it also often includes housing and rent arrears, benefit payment deductions, and even school meal debt.
Last week, Ms Mochan also held an event in the Scottish Parliament that brought together MSPs and key stakeholders to raise awareness of public debt and discuss the reforms needed to tackle it to help end child poverty.
Carol Mochan MSP said: “Scotland’s poorest households are in the grip of a public debt crisis, and it has a real impact in trapping families in poverty and exacerbating child poverty.
“Meanwhile, the systems put in place to recover debt often push families further into poverty.
“Against the backdrop of public service reform, the agenda must consider how we can do debt recovery differently, not only protecting those at risk from problem public debt but also preventing it in the first place.
“I intend to engage with the Scottish Government and work in Parliament to ensure we have systems that support families rather than push them into further poverty.”