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Later on in this school year, my son will be heading off for a week long, residential trip to an outdoor centre with the other primary seven pupils in his school.

Actually, it’s not quite a week long, because they’re only going for three nights instead of four. That’s a shame, but it will still be a hugely worthwhile trip, and I’m grateful that his school – and the teachers who work there – are willing to make it happen.

But it isn’t free. For three nights at an outdoor centre in January, the cost to us stands at £205. As my child has been in the Scouts for years, he already has whatever extra equipment (waterproofs? thermals? walking boots?) ends up being requested, but that won’t be the case for everyone.

For some of you, a couple of hundred pounds (or more) will be an utterly inconsequential amount of money; for others, it’s completely manageable, whether as a single payment or in a few instalments.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of families for whom a £205 bill is a massive, neon-lit threat.

It is easy for comfortable, middle-class Scotland to forget that thousands and thousands and thousands of children live in households where every incoming pound is accounted for and allocated, and where........

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