ONLY a quarter of people believe the Scottish Government is doing enough to tackle child poverty, despite John Swinney saying it is his top priority, a new poll has revealed.
The findings highlight why ministers cannot use the planned review of the nation’s legally binding child poverty targets to delay bolder action.
The results of the poll are contained in a new briefing from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), which says not enough has been done to meet the original targets.
It warns the current targets are ‘extremely unlikely’ to be met, because ministers were too slow to take action after they were created in 2017 and have not done enough since.
The poll of more than 2,000 Scottish adults by Diffley Partnership earlier this month found that only 26 per cent agreed (either strongly or somewhat) that the Scottish Government is doing enough to tackle child poverty.
Only five per cent said they strongly agreed, while 42 per cent either disagreed somewhat or strongly disagreed with the statement.
Published as the First Minister prepares to outline his Programme for Government this week, the poll shows overwhelming support for child poverty reduction remaining a key priority.
More than four in five people, 83 per cent, agreed that reducing child poverty should be one of the Scottish Government’s top priorities.
The same percentage agreed that it is important for ministers to have clear targets and deadlines for reducing child poverty, and to report regularly on progress.
A party-by-party breakdown also showed that treating child poverty reduction as a priority is supported by voters across the political spectrum.
More than 90 per cent of SNP and Scottish Green voters agreed it should stay high up Swinney’s agenda, as did around 80 per cent of Labour and Liberal Democrat voters, and around two thirds of Reform and Scottish Conservative voters.
The Scottish Parliament passed legislation in 2017 creating legally binding targets to cut relative child poverty to below 10 per cent by 2030/31.
But the most recent figures for 2022-2025 show it remains at 21 per cent, with ministers announcing a review of the targets in June this year.
In its briefing, JRF says the review must create ‘a renewed ambitious set of targets that re-energise the Scottish Government and Parliament back into reducing child poverty’.
An accompanying technical briefing also reiterates the importance of income-based measures being at the core of any new targets.
It follows earlier work from JRF highlighting that the Scottish Government’s latest Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan does not, in its view, meet the legal requirements of the 2017 Act.
The charity’s analysis of pledges by Scotland’s political parties ahead of the election in May also found that they fell “well short” of what is needed to meet the targets.
Chris Birt, associate director for Scotland at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:
“The Scottish Government hasn’t put bold enough policies in place and at scale fast enough, and the result is that targets meant to transform children’s lives are now extremely unlikely to be met.
“The existing targets have driven some positive action, not least the Scottish Child Payment, but it is time for both the Scottish Government and Parliament to restate a bold vision of a Scotland where no child grows up in poverty.
“They should do so confidently, driven by overwhelming public and cross-party support for reducing child poverty to stay right at the top of John Swinney’s list of priorities. The public are expecting more action here, and it’s time for our politicians to catch up.
“Regardless of where the review of the targets lands, it cannot put children’s futures on hold and act as a pause on bolder government action. To succeed in meeting new targets, the Scottish Government needs to get a running start.
“With people feeling overlooked and ignored by politicians, and shocking numbers of children still growing up in poverty, the urgency is real.”
