The overarching impact of child poverty continues to be
the greatest single concern. This is both a Scottish and UK
national issue. The combination of the government’s austerity
approach and the passage of the Department of Work and
Pension’s benefi t reforms pose a threat to the well-being of
all of our children and young people and as a consequence,
the realisation of their rights. Along with the other Children’s
Commissioners in the UK, in November 2011 we published
a mid-term report on UK progress towards implementation
of the UN Committee’s Concluding Observations 2008. The
main message from the report focused on child poverty and
the corrosive impact it has on the lives of children and young
people. I expect this to be a continuing concern for myself
and the other Commissioners for the foreseeable future.