A proposal to top up child benefit by £240 per year would help 2,540 families in the Western Isles, according to Scottish Labour.
The new social security powers of the Scottish Parliament could be used to deliver
Labour’s plan which could lift around 30,000 children in Scotland out of poverty
by 2020.
If the Scottish Government opposes the idea, then Labour will seek to amended the SNP's Child Poverty Bill, said Labour MSP David Stewart.
The proposal would see a increase of £13 a month next year, before rising to £20
per month in 2020.
David Stewart said: “If the Nationalists won’t do it we will seek
to amend the law ourselves.
“I call on Alasdair Allan to back this plan to lift around 30,000 children out of poverty.
“Labour's plan would mean starting to reverse the fall in the value of child benefit
that families have seen over the past five years.
“It would send a strong message,
that Scotland will not allow hard working families in the Western Isles to bear the
brunt of the Tories’ hard Brexit."
Child benefit proposal could help over 2,500 island families
5 March 2017