SCOTLAND will miss its child poverty reduction targets by a ‘large margin’ unless political parties meet the moment and deliver radical action in the next Scottish Parliament, according to a landmark new report.
The stark analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) shows that around one in four children (23 per cent) remain in poverty.
Voicing frustration at the lack of ambition and pace of progress, it says poverty levels are ‘largely the same’ as they were at the start of the current parliamentary session in 2021, despite some signs that the Scottish Child Payment is starting to have an impact.
The JRF is calling for all the parties standing in next year’s election to increase social security spending and expand free nursery places for low-income households to come within range of hitting the target.
The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 set targets to cut child poverty to 18 per cent by 2024/25 and to 10 per cent by 2030/31.
But the Poverty in Scotland 2025 report said:
“The Scottish Government has not met the interim child poverty reduction targets and remains far from the 2030/31 final targets.”
It adds that unless something radical changes, ‘the Scottish Parliament will miss its child poverty reduction target by a large margin’.
Other key findings in the report are:
- Poverty is deepening across Scotland, with nearly one in 10 people in very deep poverty, with incomes below 40 per cent of the median. The relative poverty line is below 60 per cent.
- In-work poverty is increasingly common. Six in 10 people in poverty live in a household where someone works.
- Nearly three-quarters (73 per cent) of children in poverty live in a home with a working parent.
- Universal Credit rates are too low to escape poverty, with 42 per cent of people in a family in receipt of a low-income benefit such as Universal Credit being trapped in poverty.
- Housing costs are causing poverty, particularly for renters, with one in 10 people in rented accommodation being pulled into poverty for this reason.
Chris Birt, Joseph Rowntree Foundation associate director for Scotland, said:
“This report shows the results of today’s failures in tackling poverty, but there is so much we can do to make things better if our politicians have the courage to act boldly.
“With nearly a quarter of a million children still experiencing poverty, there is much to be done to ensure that every child in Scotland has the childhood they deserve.
“We should be aiming for a country where everyone has a decent, affordable home, where work gives us enough to get by on, and where we all have enough to pay the bills.
“People are feeling ignored and overlooked by decision-makers, and it is crucial that the next parliament focuses on the things that matter to people, like tackling child poverty.
“Our message to all political parties ahead of the Holyrood election is this: you might try to meet our poverty targets and fail, but it is unacceptable not to try at all.”
The report shows that relative poverty, absolute poverty and persistent poverty would all need to close by more than 10 percentage points over the next Scottish Parliament for the targets to be met.
Relative child poverty is at 23 per cent, 13 percentage points above the final target, while absolute child poverty is 15 percentage points above. The latter fell by only 1 per cent in the latest data, having been at 21 per cent since 2016-19.
Persistent poverty, defined as when someone has been in poverty for three or more of the past four years, is currently 18 percentage points over the target of 5 per cent.
In this year’s report, the JRF also analysed child poverty at a local authority level for the first time. Poverty rates have fallen in 27 out of 32 council areas in 2023/24 compared to 2019/20, which the charity said could reflect the positive impact of the Scottish Child Payment.
However, researchers noted a rise in poverty rates over the same period in many parts of the central belt – Edinburgh, Glasgow, Midlothian, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire – as well as in Angus.
Glasgow City had the highest child poverty rate at 36 per cent, followed by Clackmannanshire at 28 per cent and Dundee City at 26 per cent. East Renfrewshire had the lowest at 12 per cent, followed by the Shetland Islands at 14 per cent and East Dunbartonshire and Aberdeenshire, both on 15 per cent.
The report’s recommendations include:
- Each party standing at next year’s Holyrood election should commit to meeting the child poverty reduction targets.
- There should be an increase in social security spending, likely through a mixture of increases to the Scottish Child Payment and through targeted support for priority families.
- There should be a radical overhaul of how families are supported into the jobs market. A key part of this will be the extension of funded childcare places, with low-income families given greater support.
- The UK Government should remove the two-child limit on benefit payments and detoxifies its approach to Universal Credit recipients, creating a more supportive environment for claimants.
