FINANCIAL plans laid out by the Scottish government fail to address the urgent crisis of child poverty north of the border and are an insult to care workers, Labour has said.

In Holyrood today, the Scottish government unveiled its first Budget of the new parliamentary term, with concerns raised about workers being left behind. 

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said that the Budget redoubles efforts to meet emission reduction targets and will support opportunities for green jobs, with the minister pledging support to ensure communities are not left behind.

Through the doubling of the Scottish child payment from April, more than £200 million would go towards lifting children out of poverty annually from next year, Ms Forbes said, confirming no changes would be made to income tax in Scotland. 

Recommendations made by the Just Transition Commission would also be backed with funding, the government claimed, with the first round of funding set to investment in alternative jobs for oil and gas workers.

Adult social care staff in Scotland would also see £200m transferred to local government to fund a £10.50 minimum wage for these workers and set this level as a “minimum wage floor.”

Scottish Labour said that the Budget represented further managed decline under the SNP, warning the proposals do not rise to the challenge set by Covid-19. 

The party’s finance spokesperson Daniel Johnson welcomed increased funding for the NHS, but said that the healthcare crisis extends out of hospitals. 

He said that the pay rise on offer for social care workers was an insult, calling for a £15-an-hour wage for staff. 

Mr Johnson also said that the Scottish child payment should be further doubled by 2023 if the government was serious about tackling child poverty. 

Addressing Ms Forbes, Mr Johnson said: “Scottish Labour make no apologies for pushing her to be bold. To make recovery real, not just a political posture or a namecheck.”

The Finance Secretary said that Labour’s Budget asks would cost around £2 billion to implement. 

The Scottish Greens, who co-produced the plans, said that the Budget delivers billions to tackle the climate emergency and rising poverty levels, with free bus travel made available for 930,000 young people. 

The party’s co-leader Patrick Harvie said that the Budget delivers progress on environmental priorities and was the first step towards a fairer future which left no-one behind.