Tag: Challenge Poverty Week

End Poverty Edinburgh Conference

EDINBURGH UNITES TO TACKLE POVERTY

The Council Leader and campaigners have come together to call for action to challenge the injustice of poverty in Scotland’s capital.

Staging an anti-poverty event this week (Wednesday 8 October), the End Poverty Edinburgh citizen group highlighted how around 80,000 people are living in relative poverty in Edinburgh.

The conference, held at the Grassmarket Community Project with people with lived experience of poverty, is part of Challenge Poverty Week 2025. Highlighting the need for poverty prevention and the injustice of poverty on marginalised communities, the event followed previous conferences held in 2023 and 2024.

In Edinburgh, a citywide commitment has been made to tackle poverty, which affects one in five children in the city. This includes accelerating the work of the End Poverty Edinburgh Action Plan – also tackling the city’s Housing Emergency and reviewing the way the council supports the third sector in Edinburgh.

A new preventative approach has been adopted with the aim of making it easier for people at risk of poverty to access support, while funding has been provided to Edinburgh’s new Regenerative Futures Fund, which will help local communities to lead poverty prevention and deliver change.

Caroline Cawley, a member of End Poverty Edinburgh, said: “This is our third annual conference, and we wanted to use this day as an opportunity to highlight the injustices facing marginalised groups, who are more likely to experience poverty in Scotland.

“Poverty and uncertainty for these groups is not getting better and many people are starting to lose hope. This is the worst thing to lose as hope is the last thing to go. As a group of Edinburgh residents with lived experience of poverty, we’ll continue to use Challenge Poverty Week to call for change and solutions, including greater poverty prevention in the city.”

Speaking at the event, Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “In Edinburgh around 80,000 residents are struggling to make ends meet, with one in five children living in relative poverty. We must continue to do everything in our power to end poverty in Edinburgh.

“I’m proud of the positive work which is already being done to combat the causes of inequality in the city, and this annual conference highlights the incredible efforts of our third sector, council officers, and city partners to make life better for thousands of people across the city. Without this progress, these statistics would be even more stark.

“We can’t address poverty alone and this Challenge Poverty Week, we’re uniting for change, highlighting the injustice of poverty in our communities.”

Peter Kelly of The Poverty Alliance said: “We’re very pleased that Edinburgh is marking this year’s Challenge Poverty Week. In a rich country like ours, poverty is an injustice that weakens us all as a society.

“But we can solve it. We can redesign our economy to make sure people have incomes that are adequate enough to live a life with freedom and dignity.”

The End Poverty Edinburgh Conference is the first of three major poverty events happening in Edinburgh this month. On 25 October, the Scotland Demands Better rally led by the Scottish Poverty Alliance will take place in Edinburgh.

Then, on 31 October, the Edinburgh Poverty Commission will host a public event to launch the publication of their most recent findings on the actions needed to end poverty in Edinburgh.

Meanwhile, during Challenge Poverty week, poverty stigma training is being rolled out to Council employees to increase awareness of poverty and to help people access the support they need.

A Council pop-up in Gilmerton Library is also offering information on benefits, building skills, money advice and links to the community food pantry in Gilmerton community centre.

Information for residents experiencing or at risk of poverty can also be found on the Council’s cost of living webpages

Music programme boosts children’s wellbeing

More than 450,000 take part in initiative

Considering the past, present and future of Scotland’s flagship music making fund for children and young people.

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has welcomed a review highlighting the impact of music for young people of all backgrounds during Challenge Poverty Week.

The £9.78 million Scottish Government-funded Youth Music Initiative provides music-making opportunities for young people across Scotland, particularly those who would otherwise be unable to participate.

The review found the Creative Scotland-administered programme had expanded access and opportunities for children across Scotland with more than 453,000 children supported over the last year.

It also found that its newest strand, the Youth Arts Open Fund, delivered in participation with YouthLink, is already creating additional opportunities for young people facing barriers to participation. This includes ‘Starcatchers’, who opened their Baby Studio in an empty retail unit in Wester Hailes, providing free access to creative space for babies and young children.

The review makes a range of recommendations for the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland to consider. These focus on potential structural changes as well as seeking out opportunities to innovate and cement YMI’s position as an internationally-recognised model of best practice in youth arts and engagement.

Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: “At its heart, the YMI is about providing young people of all backgrounds the opportunity to enjoy music.

“Participation in cultural and creative activities helps young people grow into confident citizens and plays an important role in fostering wellbeing and supporting attainment.

“The Scottish Government is proud to support the delivery of these benefits with £9.78 million funding in the last Budget. The review’s recommendations will be considered carefully alongside the independent Review of Creative Scotland.”

Morag Macdonald, YMI Manager at Creative Scotland said: “This report marks a pivotal moment to both reflect on the profound impact of the YMI on Scotland’s children and young people, and to celebrate how deeply it’s now embedded within the fabric of our national cultural offer.

“We welcome the report’s recommendations which provide a clear focus for the programme’s strategic development, and we remain ambitious about the future direction of the fund.”

Youth Music Scotland Review

ymi_scotlands-national-music-education-infrastructure_full-reportDownload

Support for struggling households

Record investment in housing support

A record £99 million will be invested in Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) this financial year to help thousands of households struggling to afford housing costs in Scotland.

During Challenge Poverty Week, Housing Secretary Màiri McAllan highlighted the payments as a ‘lifeline’ for thousands of families and individuals. Funded by the Scottish Government and paid out by local authorities, the DHP scheme is designed to provide financial support to low-income households, delivering vital action to reduce poverty, safeguard tenancies and prevent homelessness.

The Scottish Government has budgeted a record £99 million in 2025-26 to deliver the payments, which are primarily used to help people affected by the UK Government’s under-occupancy charge (‘bedroom tax’) and benefit cap. In last month’s Housing Emergency Action Plan, the Housing Secretary allocated a further £2 million towards the budget for DHPs.

On a visit to Fife Gingerbread, a charity which supports lone parents and families in times of need, Ms McAllan said: “In a country as wealthy as Scotland, it is unacceptable that anyone, and particularly any child, should live with the strain and harm of poverty.

“While Scotland is now the only part of the UK where child poverty levels are falling, there remain many complex drivers of poverty – not least the high levels of inflation in the UK driving increases in the costs of basic essentials such as food, energy and housing.

“Last year 94,000 households were supported by the Discretionary Housing Payment scheme in Scotland. These payments are a vital lifeline for people in emergency situations and acute financial distress, where they cannot afford the cost of putting a roof over their head.

“The UK Government’s punitive welfare policies are driving the problems households face but the Scottish Government is doing what it can to mitigate the impact on people, from the £99 million investment in Discretionary Housing Payments this year to effectively scrapping the UK Government’s two-child limit in Scotland from March next year.

“The First Minister has made tackling child poverty among this government’s defining missions. However, we can only do that with a social security system that provides the support that people need in the hardest of times.

“The Scottish Government is committed to putting more money in people’s pockets and delivering real savings to support families. The UK Government must make the same choices.”

Fife Gingerbread CEO Laura Millar said: “During Challenge Poverty Week, we’re proud to welcome the Cabinet Secretary for Housing. Discretionary Housing Payments are an important tool to help struggling families with their housing costs, and we welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to invest a further £2m to support households in temporary accommodation to find settled homes as a good next step.

“Children across Scotland deserve to grow up in safe, happy homes and we will continue to amplify their voice to champion for change.”

Applying for a Discretionary Housing Payment – mygov.scot

Tax Justice Scotland: A fair wealth tax could raise almost half a billion pounds a year from Scotland’s 10 richest families alone

New report reinforces case for stronger wealth taxes as a key building block of wider package of UK and Scottish fair tax reforms

A new report for Tax Justice Scotland has exposed Scotland’s staggering wealth gap with just five families holding more wealth (£19.3bn) than a quarter of Scotland’s population with the least wealth combined (£18.9bn).

The news comes as campaigners, frontline delivery organisations, academics, trade unions and others gather in Edinburgh for a major tax justice conference to explore the urgent need for a package of fair improvements to the tax systems at Scotland, UK and global levels.

The report, Taxing Wealth for a Fairer and Greener Scotland, produced by the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) on behalf of the campaign, makes clear that fairer taxes on wealth at UK and Scotland levels must be at the heart of this package of reforms to invest in and drive progress towards a fairer, greener and more prosperous future.

Tax Justice Scotland says improved wealth taxation is only one part of a fairer tax system and is today also challenging all political parties in Scotland to outline detailed proposals for using the powers of the Scottish Parliament to improve devolved and local tax systems. 

The STUC analysis highlights the extreme end of wealth inequality after official data showed the wealthiest 2% of Scottish households have more wealth than the poorest 50% combined.

The report shows that the fortunes of Scotland’s very wealthiest people are surging far faster than people’s pay packets. Between 2024 and 2025, the combined wealth of Scotland’s ten richest families shot up by almost 8%, outstripping average earnings growth (5.9%).

Incredibly, the five richest families in Scotland are estimated to have more wealth (£19.3bn) than the Scottish Government collected in Income Tax (£19bn) last year. 

For illustrative purposes, the STUC analysis shows that a modest annual wealth tax of just 2% on all those with assets of more than £10 million could raise nearly half a billion pounds (£492 million) from Scotland’s 10 richest families alone, enough to pay for 12,000 new nurses, or 11,000 new teachers, or to double the Scottish Child Payment and lift more than 30,000 children out of poverty.

Given such a wealth tax would apply to all those with assets of more than £10 million in Scotland, it would raise even more.

Roz Foyer, General Secretary of the STUC, said on behalf of Tax Justice Scotland: “This research lays bare the shocking concentration of wealth in Scotland. While families across the country are struggling to pay their bills, a handful of the super-rich are lining their pockets with more and more money.

“It doesn’t have to be this way: fairly taxing this eye-watering wealth could, according to STUC research, mean more 12,000 new nurses in hospitals, 11,000 more teachers in classrooms or to double the Scottish Child Payment and lift more than 30,000 children out of poverty

“Politicians across the UK should be in no doubt that it’s their dithering and delay that is deepening the crisis within our communities and public services. The powers to make a radical change to our tax system are at their disposal. The excuses must end. Scotland can work for everyone, not just the richest few. It’s time that work was started without equivocation.”

Tax Justice Scotland believes a series of tax reforms are needed to deliver the investment Scotland needs, while incentivising positive behaviours, to tackle poverty, strengthen public services, cut emissions and support fair work, while reducing the many forms of inequality that persist, including gender and economic inequality.

The campaign says this package of reform is essential to building a fairer, greener and more prosperous future for everyone in Scotland. While, over time, raising enough revenue is likely to require broad-based tax increases – fairer wealth taxation is vital.

As the Chancellor prepares her autumn Budget, campaigners point to growing momentum behind fairer taxes, with 68% of people in Scotland thinking the very richest should pay more. Over three-quarters (79%) of people in Scotland back a UK-wide wealth tax on the very richest people. 

Previous analysis has shown that the measure, alongside a series of other reforms to improve existing UK-level taxes on wealth, like increasing Capital Gains Tax and applying National Insurance to investment income, could raise up to £60 billion a year across the UK. 

A UK-wide wealth tax, if introduced, could help boost the Scottish Budget. But the STUC’s analysis shows that if the UK Government fails to act, the Scottish Parliament could use its own tax powers, with HMRC support, to introduce a locally-administered wealth tax.

The findings come against a backdrop of growing fiscal pressure: the Scottish Fiscal Commission has warned of a £4.7 billion shortfall in the Scottish Budget by the end of the decade, alongside mounting longer-term challenges. The Commission is urging all parties to work together before and after the Scottish election to address these challenges.

While making the case for improved taxation on all forms of wealth, Tax Justice Scotland says improving tax on property wealth in Scotland is particularly essential. Campaigners say the outdated and unfair Council Tax, still based on property values from 1991, must finally be replaced with a reformed property tax that reflects today’s housing wealth. 

Property wealth has surged by almost £100 billion in just ten years, yet the Council Tax system remains frozen in time, letting those in the most expensive homes pay far less than they should, while many others are left paying over the odds.

Tax Justice Scotland say replacing Council Tax, alongside wider reforms to better tax the wealthiest and to build upon modest but progressive changes to Income Tax in Scotland, would collectively make sure those with the broadest shoulders contribute a fairer share. 

Campaigners emphasise that while tax isn’t a silver bullet, it can play a much bigger role in building the Scotland we want to see.

Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland, a member of Tax Justice Scotland, said: “Our tax system can do so much more to help build the country the people of Scotland want, but, right now, it’s stacked in favour of the wealthy.

“It’s time to fix the system; and that must include better taxing wealth right across the UK and, in Scotland, finally replacing the outdated Council Tax.

“With the Scottish election fast approaching, all political parties have a clear choice: defend a broken system that protects the richest while short-changing critical priorities or back a fairer one that delivers a fairer, greener and more prosperous country for all of us.”

STUC-Taxing-Wealth-for-a-Fairer-and-Greener-ScotlandDownload

Read the report Taxing Wealth for a Fairer and Greener Scotland here: 

https://bit.ly/TaxingWealth 

SCOTLAND DEMANDS BETTER on TAX:

Scotland-Demands-Better-on-TaxDownload

Breaking Down Barriers: Edinburgh Leisure’s Get Active Card supports healthier lives during Challenge Poverty Week

With Challenge Poverty Week (Monday 6th – Sunday 12th October 2025) taking place this week, Edinburgh Leisure, a registered charity and the city’s largest provider of sports and leisure facilities, is highlighting its commitment to supporting people affected by poverty and inequality to lead active, healthy lives.

Phil Trodden, Health Development Officer at Edinburgh Leisure, said: “Poverty and poor health are closely linked. Despite Edinburgh being one of the wealthiest cities in the UK, Edinburgh faces one of the greatest levels of inequality.

“Nearly 82,000 people here are living in poverty, according to the Edinburgh Poverty Commission. Life expectancy can differ by as much as 14 years between the city’s most and least affluent areas.

“We know that people living in deprived communities are far less likely to be physically active, which can have a huge impact on their health and wellbeing.”

Bridging the Gap with the Get Active Card

Edinburgh Leisure’s £10 Get Active Card is designed to break down barriers to physical activity for adults experiencing poverty. The card offers off-peak access to gyms, swimming pools, saunas, steam rooms, and group fitness classes across the city – helping people enjoy the life-changing benefits of being active, regardless of their circumstances.

Lorraine’s Story: A Life Transformed

One person who has benefitted from the Get Active Card is Lorraine, who lives with multiple sclerosis and had to stop working due to her health.

After a challenging period of illness, Lorraine was initially unsure about returning to exercise. However, with the encouragement of Edinburgh Leisure’s supportive staff and fellow participants, she soon found herself enjoying regular sessions and gaining confidence in the gym – something she never thought possible.

When funding ended for the programme, she was referred to, Lorraine discovered the Get Active Card. “It’s unbelievable value,” she says.

“Without it, I wouldn’t be able to maintain regular physical activity, especially in a gym setting.” Lorraine has seen improvements in her strength, motivation, and overall quality of life, and has even inspired others to get active.

Real Impact, Real Stories

“Other cardholders have described the Get Active Card as ‘lifechanging,’ ‘a lifesaver’ and ‘so valuable’.

“For many, it’s the only way to access affordable exercise, improve their health, and find respite from daily challenges,” Phil Trodden explains.

How to Apply

Anyone in receipt of the following benefits may be eligible for a Get Active Card:

  • Universal Credit
  • Income Support
  • Job Seekers Allowance
  • Guaranteed Pension Credit
  • Employment Support Allowance (ESA)

There are no joining fees or monthly subscriptions- just pay when you can. The Get Active Card costs £10 per month and gives access to Edinburgh Leisure’s gyms, swimming pools and fitness and gym classes, 7 days a week, up until 4pm each day.

The Get Active Care is not available online or via Direct Debit. To sign up, visit any Edinburgh Leisure venue and speak to a Welcome Host, or find out more at: 

www.edinburghleisure.co.uk/get-active-card. 

Edinburgh Leisure aims to welcome 150 new Get Active Card holders across its venues in October, with around 900 passes already sold each month.

More funding to tackle child poverty

Increased support for local initiatives

Projects aimed at tackling child poverty across the country will receive increased, multi-year funding thanks to a boost from the Scottish Government.  

Successful applicants to the third round of the Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund, now worth more than £1.8 million, will receive grants of up to £100,000 over two years to improve local services.  

The Scottish Government has already invested over £1.4 million to support 21 projects across Scotland over the first two rounds of the fund, having launched in 2023. 

Previous grants have been used to improve the use of data to identify families who need support, to improve access to financial advice services, and to support parents to engage with employability services.  

The fund sits alongside other innovative measures, such as the Five Family Payments, including the Scottish Child Payment, which are helping to reduce child poverty in Scotland.  

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Eradicating child poverty, supporting families and giving children the best start in life are the driving principles of this government. 

“That’s why, alongside a range of measures, we have reopened this fund to help local authorities and health boards to go further, aiding the collective effort to confine child poverty to history.

“Work through the fund has previously helped maximise income and to tackle household debt, which is vital to easing the strains felt by households as the cost of living rises, and I look forward to receiving many innovative proposals.

“Our collective measures mean that Scotland remains the only part of the UK where child poverty levels are falling.  

“We should recognise that progress, but we must not forget that one child living in poverty is one too many. We are laser-focussed on addressing the challenges faced by households across the country, and this fund is another step towards eradicating child poverty.”  

Transformation Project Manager at North Ayrshire Council Tracy Simpson said: “The fund supported the council on our journey towards implementing a North Ayrshire Single Shared Assessment model.

“Being involved in the fund’s project network provided an opportunity to share learning and experiences across local authorities and ideas from others helped shape work that could be replicated at North Ayrshire.

“Expanding our network and having access to key contacts has helped us to raise awareness at a government level about the key challenges faced around data reuse to maximise customer entitlements and target unmet need across the public sector. The support provided from the Scottish Government was exceptional.”

The Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund strengthens the collaborative efforts to tackle child poverty between the Scottish Government and local partners. Elsewhere, through the Fairer Futures Partnerships (FFPs), the Scottish Government is working with local authorities to test and improve services to better help families living in poverty.  

Last month, the First Minister announced an extension to the FFP programme with support now available in 16 regions.

This included expanding to Dumfries & Galloway, Edinburgh, South Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian, meeting a Programme for Government commitment to work to identify further adopters in addition to three new partnerships in Fife, North Lanarkshire and Shetland this year.  

The proportion of Scottish children living in absolute poverty has reached its lowest level in 30 years and the latest figures (for 2023-24) show that the rates of both relative and absolute child poverty in Scotland were 9 percentage points lower than the UK average.   

Applications are open until Friday 21 November 2025. 

Challenging poverty with ‘family friendly policies’

FM commits to putting more money in Scots’ pockets and urges UK Government to act

Challenge Poverty Week – The Poverty Alliance 

First Minister John Swinney has said the Scottish Government is committed to putting “more money in people’s pockets” through policies that alleviate financial pressures on families as Challenge Poverty Week begins.

The First Minister said the Scottish Government’s cost of living guarantee, which includes free bus travel for 2.3 million people, more than £6,000 in early learning and childcare support for each eligible child, free prescriptions and other measures, is delivering real savings for families across the country.  

The guarantee sits alongside wider support, such as the Five Family Payments, including the Scottish Child Payment, which are reducing poverty. 

The proportion of Scottish children living in absolute poverty has reached its lowest level in 30 years and the latest figures (for 2023-24) show that the rates of both relative and absolute child poverty in Scotland were 9 percentage points lower than the UK average.   

Scottish Government policies are estimated to keep 70,000 children out of relative poverty in 2025-26. This impact is projected to grow over time to reach 100,000 children by 2028-29 – in part owing to plans to mitigate the UK Government’s two-child limit, which should keep 20,000 children out of poverty next year.  

Mr Swinney said: “Tackling child poverty is this government’s defining mission and our determination is backed up by a commitment to put more money in people’s pockets and deliver real savings to support families.   

“There are fewer children in poverty in Scotland than the rest of the UK because we have made bold policy choices backed by an unwavering resolve. 

“The Scottish Child Payment was benefitting around 322,000 children and their families as of the end of June. Our free school meals programme is providing nutritious meals to more than 230,000 primary school pupils. We have cut costs for commuters by scrapping peak rail fares. Some 2.3 million people travel free on buses. And we’re mitigating the two-child limit early next year.  

“The UK Government, if it is serious about tackling poverty, must match our ambition and, at the very least, fully scrap the two-child limit so that a generation of children don’t have their opportunities limited by inaction. 

“But scrapping the two-child limit should also be done alongside the removal of the benefit cap. It is unconscionable to me that the UK Government could fail to address this – it must scrap both punitive policies.  

“If it does, and it matches the Scottish Child Payment and introduces an Essentials Guarantee, our modelling estimates that the UK Government could reduce relative child poverty in Scotland by 100,000 children next year.   

“We have made a difference through bold, game-changing policies. The blueprint is there. It is time for the UK Government to act.”

Challenge Poverty Week – The Poverty Alliance 

The cost-of-living guarantee: 

  • Lower income tax than in England for the majority of workers 
  • Continuation of free prescriptions and free eye appointments 
  • Free bus travel for 2.3 million people  
  • Scottish undergraduate students will continue to pay no tuition fees 
  • Funded childcare hours, which would otherwise cost families more than £6,000 a year per eligible child. 
  • Free school meals, which save the average family who take up the offer £450 per child per year, will be expanded, and more breakfast clubs introduced. 
  • Delivering Pension Age Winter Heating Payments for eligible Scottish pensioners in 2025-26
  • Scrapping peak rail fares 

The Five Family Payments include: 

  • The Scottish Child Payment, which is a weekly payment of £27.15 for each eligible child under 16 years of age. 
  • The Best Start Grant includes three payments designed to support families at different stages, including during pregnancy and when a child starts school, including: 
  • the Pregnancy and Baby Payment, which is a payment of £767.50 on the birth of the first child and £383.75 on the birth of any subsequent children 
  • the Early Learning Payment, which is a payment of £319.80 per child for children between 2 and 3.5 years old to support child development 
  • the School Age Payment, which is a payment of £319.80 per child to help with the costs of preparing for school 
  • Best Start Foods, which is a prepaid card to buy healthy foods for eligible pregnant women and families with children under the age of three, with a minimum payment of £5.40 a week. 

The Child Poverty Action Group estimates that the two-child limit on benefits is pulling 109 more children into poverty every day.

Latest figures on child poverty rates in Scotland compared to rest of UK

Child poverty summary showing the proportion of Scottish children living in absolute poverty has reached its lowest level in 30 years

Households with children in the poorest 10% of households are also estimated to be £2,600 a year better off in 2025-26. 

The Poverty Alliance: Challenge Poverty Week events

Challenge Poverty Week is an opportunity for you to raise your voice against poverty and unite with others in calling for a just and equal Scotland. Join our free online events to get you inspired.

On Thu 7 August our Policy team will take you through our policy asks as #WeDemandBetter ahead of CPW25.

This session is your chance to hear about our policy priorities, learn why they matter, and find out how you can get involved in using them to advocate for change!

On Thu 14 Aug at 10am, our free online training will help you take your first steps in getting the Challenge Poverty Week 2025 messages heard both locally and nationally.

Join the Poverty Alliance team as we go over some of the basics of how decision-making works in Scotland, and as we share simple ways to start building relationships with MSPs.

And on Thu 28 August join our Values First training on how best to place moral values at the heart of effective communications around Challenge Poverty Week.

Click here for Challenge Poverty Week information!

Challenge Poverty Week: Change is possible, says Public Health Scotland

This Challenge Poverty Week, Public Health Scotland’s CEO, Paul Johnston explains how PHS are advocating for a Scotland where everyone has access to an adequate income to enable a healthy standard of living:

Living in poverty is detrimental to health and one of the main causes of poor health and health inequalities, with negative consequences for children and adults. Policy changes which impact on the drivers of poverty (income from employment, income from social security and the cost of living) have the potential to impact on population health and health inequalities.

Since 2010 a series of changes have been implemented to the UK (reserved) social security system. An intention of The Welfare Reform Act 2012 which triggered these changes was to help people into work and reduce poverty for adults and children, which in turn would lead to improvements in health.

Policies included reduced financial support to low-income families with three or more children and increased conditionality for lone parents. These are families who already have an increased risk of living in poverty.

Since 2013, Public Health in Scotland (PHS) has been monitoring the economic and health trends associated with Welfare Reform. Our latest report Improving Lives? highlights that the anticipated improvements to income and health from Welfare Reform have not been realised for people in Scotland.

Aspects of health have worsened or remained unchanged since 2010 and importantly, many of these trends pre-date the COVID-19 pandemic. These trends were also observed for the rest of the UK. A forthcoming PHS systematic review found that for people exposed to the changes, UK Welfare Reform made mental health worse, and had no positive effect on physical health.

While some working-age families and children benefitted from Welfare Reform (through increased employment), these gains were offset by those who were harmed by the changes.

This is concerning, especially as our report shows that population groups most likely to be affected by these changes are the groups who are already more likely to be at risk of or experiencing poverty. We know from 2013 that the relative child poverty rates in Scotland increased after a period of decline.

Evidence also tells us that mental health problems became more prevalent, especially after 2015, while health inequalities have risen. The period also saw stalled improvement or worsening trends in financial insecurity and long-term sickness.

This Challenge Poverty Week, we are advocating for a Scotland where everyone has access to an adequate income to enable a healthy standard of living. This will help to create a Scotland where everybody thrives.

A number of changes are needed to make this happen. These include promoting quality employment which supports good health. Almost 19% of employees in Scotland aged 18-55 are in poor quality work, and most working-age adults and children in poverty live in a household where someone works.

We also need to ensure our social security system protects people’s mental health and wellbeing. This could include an Essentials Guarantee to protect people from hardship, supported by 72% of the population.

It could also include improved support for working-age adults with health problems, especially mental health problems.

We know that change is possible.

During 1997–2010 policy choices by the UK government directed financial support at children and pensioners and as a result poverty fell for both of these groups. This period also saw increased employment rates translate into improved mental health for lone parents. This proves that we can make a difference to people’s lives through social security and employment policies.

In Scotland, child poverty rates are lower than many other UK nations. In Scotland, we are doing things differently to tackle child poverty.

The Scottish Government estimates that around 100,000 children will be kept out of poverty as a result of the Scottish Child Payment this year and low-income families are being further supported with the costs of pregnancy and looking after children through Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods payments.

Scotland is delivering a strengthened employment offer to parents, to provide holistic support and address specific barriers to enable more parents to gain and progress in work. This along with focussed action to create a Fair Work Nation, which includes supporting more employers to pay the living wage, provides a platform to build on, to support more parents to escape poverty.

Learning and evidence from past UK policy approaches and Scotland’s actions to tackle child poverty should be used to inform further policy changes to address poverty and improve health.

It is imperative that providing an effective social security safety net for when families need it and creating high quality, flexible employment opportunities for parents, will be central to the UK’s child poverty strategy going forward.

Scottish Secretary pledges to take action on poverty

Ian Murray welcomes recommendations by Joseph Rowntree Foundation and vows to work with Scottish Government to tackle associated issues and break down barriers

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray spoke at the launch of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s (JRF) annual report into poverty in Scotland this week [7 October].

The report, summarised here, found that one million people in Scotland are living in poverty and that one in four of them are children. Recommendations were made to overhaul the social security system to tackle the problem and, in particular, for the UK and Scottish Governments to work together to make the process smoother in terms of reserved and devolved policy areas.

Ian Murray said: “I want to outline some of the steps that the new UK Government is taking to reduce poverty in Scotland and across the whole of the UK.

“We are committed to working together with the Scottish Government, and to reset the relationship between our two governments. Because, as this latest report highlights, it is vital that we can deliver on behalf of the people of Scotland.

“I’ve spent a lot of time with organisations such as Poverty Alliance to understand fully the complexities of what’s happening. 

“Having one million people in poverty – a quarter of those children – is really sobering. But I think the most sobering thing is that none of us are surprised, and that really should be the thing that we need to tackle in terms of policy.

“We are only 95 days into this new government and we’ve already done a lot of engagement to make sure we can develop these policies, whether it be in social security or regarding the underlying parts of poverty. 

“With the Budget coming up on 30 October, the Chancellor has been clear on two things. One is the economic inheritance that we’ve got to try and deal with and that those with the broadest shoulders will carry the majority of what needs to be done to grow the economy for all parts of our country.

“Reducing poverty across all sections of society, particularly child poverty, is in our DNA. We did it before. Unfortunately, we’re going to have to do it again.

“We will be publishing our Employment Rights Bill this week to fundamentally transform work and pay. It will ban exploitative zero-hour contracts, outlaw fire and rehire and will make sure that the National Minimum Wage becomes a genuine living wage.

“It’s still sobering that two-thirds of children in poverty are in households where one or both adults are working full time, and that means that there’s a big problem with pay. We hope that our New Deal for Working People will start to resolve some of those issues.

“I think it’s also important to highlight our Universal Credit review, which will look at everything from the two-child cap to housing allowances.

“We’ve also launched our Child Poverty Task Force, chaired jointly by the Secretaries of State for Education and the Department of Work and Pensions. It looks at all the other big issues that are around in terms of poverty.

“Yes, it’s about the social security system, Universal Credit, but it’s also about housing, educational attainment, health inequalities, pay in the workplace, progression and skills. It’s about those underlying causes of poverty that are inherent in our society that we need to find a way to resolve once and for all.

“Having grown up on a council estate, I know that having that security of tenure of a house was the bedrock in which the family was built, and without that it’s difficult to see how you can get yourself out of poverty.

“Housing is devolved, but both governments are working very closely together to make sure that we can resolve the housing emergency that’s been declared across a lot of our local authorities. 

“We’ve made a good start over the last 95 days. There will be bumps in the road, because these are fundamental challenges, but the whole culture of the new government is to try and resolve these issues. 

“We want to make sure the system can work better, and joint working is really important in this area. There’s no reason why Social Security Scotland and the DWP can’t work jointly in terms of the delivery of social security, to make sure that we get the best out of both systems for the benefit of everyone who needs to access that system. 

“Regarding the low update of benefits by ethnic minorities, I think that’s a huge challenge for us. Not just finding those individuals and families, but actually being able to engage with them and get them what they deserve to be claiming. That’s a huge battle for us all to try to work together and resolve.

“We’ve got four big priorities as a new government and as a Scotland Office. Growth is the number one priority, but that also feeds into our green agenda, which is our second priority. Our third one is Brand Scotland to try and increase our exports, to improve our businesses and create more jobs. And the fourth one, which attached the first three, is the eradication of poverty.

“That’s something that myself and Ministerial colleague Kirsty McNeill are fundamentally committed to doing. We can only do that by all of us – devolved governments, the UK Government and organisations like JRF working together. We must find ways we can not only make the system better, but make sure that those who require access to the system, get access to that system and get the funds and support they deserve.

“There’s a huge amount of work to be done and this report gives us that very sobering starting point.”

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