Making life more affordable

Scottish Labour will:

Fix the mess by:

  • Reducing tax for first time home buyers, saving them up to £1,100.
  • Widening eligibility for energy-efficiency grants, so 3,000 more older households can access funding for home upgrades and rural home grants are worth £500 more.
  • Tackling school meal debt and reviewing free school meal thresholds in secondary school.

Get the basics right by:

  • Introducing breakfast clubs in all primary schools so no child starts the day hungry.
  • Cutting childcare costs for working parents, with two weeks of summer holiday clubs and increasing the value of tax free childcare to £3,000 per child.
  • Committing to no income tax rate rises for five years, with the ambition to lower taxes as we get the economy growing.

Deliver a better future by:

  • Making sure every young person leaves school with a bank account.
  • Creating Family Network hubs, based on Sure Start principles, to connect families with the support they need.
  • Establishing a Parent Works Scheme, with training and support to help parents find well-paid jobs and help lift families out of poverty.
  • Improving the childcare system, with funding following the child so that care is accessible and available for every family.

Making life more affordable


The people of Scotland are full of aspiration for themselves and their families. They want to work hard and get on in life, but these days it can feel more difficult than ever to make ends meet. As costs rise and the SNP hike Scottish taxes, people are paying more but feel like they are getting less in return. In difficult financial times we need to support each other and government should enable that collective effort. Yet, ending poverty cannot be achieved through welfare alone, it requires action across every area of government. Scottish Labour will help people who are struggling with the cost of living and act to break the cycle of poverty. Together we can build a more stable future where hard work finally pays off once again. 

Skip to:

Cutting costs for households → Helping families to thrive → Supporting people in financial difficulty → Building financial security

Cutting costs for households

In recent years, the increased cost of living has been felt by every household. Scottish Labour will help people keep more of their own money in their pocket and keep everyday costs down by: 

• Reducing tax for first time buyers, increasing the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax relief threshold to £200,000, saving first time buyers up to £1,100 off the cost of buying a home. 

• Helping households save on rent, building over 20,000 mid-market rent homes which save tenants an average of £2,700 a year off market rents and setting aside 5,000 homes for those who want to save for a mortgage deposit. 

• Widening eligibility for energy-efficiency support, dropping the age threshold for the Warmer Homes Scotland scheme to 70 and increasing rural grant uplifts by £500. 

• Boosting uptake of the Warm Homes Discount, increasing automatic roll out so all 500,000 households who are eligible get £150 off their energy bills. 

• Keeping down the cost of public transport, preventing a return to peak rail fares, maintaining free bus travel for under-22s and older people, and delivering a plan to place local bus services under public control. 

• Preventing above inflation hikes to water bills while Scottish Water generates multi-million pound surpluses and restricting excessive executive bonuses. 

• Not increasing the rates of income tax for the whole five years of the next Parliament, with the ambition to lower the tax burden the SNP has placed on Scots as we get the economy growing once again. 

Helping families to thrive

Across the country, parents are striving to give their children the best start in life. They need a government that backs them to succeed but the majority of children in poverty in Scotland live with a parent in work. To help families, Scottish Labour will: 

• Introduce breakfast clubs in all primary schools, helping parents get to work on time and ensuring no child starts the day hungry. 

• Reduce the costs of childcare for working parents, providing two weeks of funded holiday clubs during the summer and increasing the value of tax free childcare so it is worth £3,000 per child. 

• Improve the flexibility of the childcare system, with funding following the child, support for childminders and action to ensure care is accessible for single parent families, parents who work shifts, and children with additional support needs. 

• Maintain the Scottish Child Payment and increase it to £40 a week for children under one to help low income families at the start of a child’s life. 

• Establish a Parent Works Scheme, funding colleges to deliver dedicated training and employment support for parents who are unemployed or in low paid work, so they can fill local skills gaps, boost their household incomes and help lift children out of poverty. 

• Create Family Network hubs in primary schools, based on Sure Start principles. These hubs will have family coordinators to help families connect with the support they need, be it advice on money and benefits, housing, childcare, parenting and employment support. 

Supporting people in financial difficulty

Periods of financial crisis can happen in anyone’s life, but at these moments the right support is crucial to prevent people becoming trapped in cycles of debt or poverty. Scottish Labour will ensure help is available for anyone who faces financial insecurity by: 

• Standardising delivery of the Scottish Welfare Fund, to ensure it is targeted towards preventing homelessness, end the postcode lottery of access and improve integration with local money advice services. 

• Protecting people with public debt, working with public sector stakeholders to implement new standards and protections so no one is pushed into poverty by public sector debt collection. 

• Tackling school meal debt, maintaining write off funds and reviewing the thresholds for free school meals in secondary schools so all those in need can access a nutritious and warm school meal. 

• Increasing access to free internet spaces, expanding free mobile SIM programmes and boosting uptake of broadband social tariffs to reduce digital exclusion. 

• Supporting the growth of credit unions and building societies, so there are low cost options available to those who need to access financial advice and credit. 

Building financial security:

Financial stability is about more than preventing poverty. We want a Scotland where everyone is equipped and empowered to access good banking services and build resilient finances. Scottish Labour will deliver a financial inclusion and wellbeing strategy that will: 

• Properly fund financial inclusion, redirecting at least £2m of dormant asset funding into money advice services. 

• Work with schools to deliver financial literacy classes and ensure every young person leaves school with a bank account. 

• Improve access to banking hubs, working with the banking sector to help anyone who needs reliable access to cash and banking services. 

• Prioritise the efficiency and effectiveness of Social Security Scotland, ensuring that it delivers for those who rely on payments and resources are reaching those most in need. 

• Help with transitions into work, ensuring that Scotland’s social security system removes barriers for people who want to take up paid work or increase their hours. 

• Increase funding for consumer advice charities, abolishing Consumer Scotland and redirecting the funding to reduce duplication of work. 

Together we can build a more stable future where hard work finally pays off.