Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland, welcomed Bill Scott’s appointment as the new Chair of the Poverty and Inequality Commission once it moves into statute on July 1, and strongly echoed his call for people with experience of living in poverty to be appointed to it.
Livingstone said: “It’s hugely welcome that from this summer Scotland’s Poverty and Inequality Commission will have legal status to independently scrutinise progress on tackling growing levels of poverty and inequality in Scotland.
“If the Commission is to be a powerful advocate for stretching new action, it is crucial that people who know what it means to struggle to pay the bills or put food on the table are at its heart.
“Bill Scott has been a strong advocate for disabled people in Scotland. We look forward to him using his considerable experience to build upon the encouraging contribution the Commission has made since it was first launched in 2017. We must all be impatient for faster progress for everyone in poverty.”