The Scottish Government has announced that 10 charities will receive a share of a £20 million fund in 2026-27 to help eradicate child poverty.

The money will be spent to deliver wide-ranging support to improve wellbeing, boost incomes, and help parents towards employment.

It is estimated that up to 35,000 families could benefit from the Scottish Government’s package of whole family support, spanning almost all of Scotland.

Home Start Caithness will bring together nine organisations to provide one-step gateway to financial and wellbeing support in the region and Borders Community Action will work with 30 local charities under a new partnership to embed support in rural communities, where poverty can be harder to identify and the right support more difficult to access.

Salvesen Mindroom Centre (Mindroom) will expand its support into new areas of Scotland, such as Dundee, to pair parents of neurodivergent children with a Family Adviser to help boost incomes and improve children’s outcomes.

In Dundee, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville met with families of neurodivergent children to hear about the difference that effective support at point of need can make.

She said: "We have made great strides in our ambitious mission to eradicate child poverty. Within the powers we have, we have boosted incomes while delivering a transformational cost of living support package.

“But we know that more needs to be done, which is why we are driving whole family support. This is about making sure that people can access the help they need easily, as simply as possible, and as quickly as possible.

“To remove barriers, we need to empower local charities and local people and bring them together with other services so that there are clear and easy ways to access the right support, in the right place and at the right time.

“I am proud that this ambitious programme, which we will deliver in partnership with charities across Scotland, does just that.”

CEO of Mindroom Alan Thornburrow said: “We see the benefits that whole family support brings to parents and children on a daily basis, so we are pleased to receive support from the Scottish Government to expand our services, including into Dundee.

“Neurodivergent children and their parents have historically found it challenging to access the right support, in the right place – but we are determined to be there for them, tailoring services to meet their individual circumstances, and giving children the best start in life in the process.

“This funding will help us do so on a larger scale, enabling us to reach more people in varied communities. We look forward to pressing ahead with this work.”