Tag: older people

LATEST POVERTY STATISTICS PUBLISHED

Campaigners have called for a Minimum Income Guarantee and an immediate increase in the Scottish Child Payment that will lift thousands out of poverty.

Poverty Alliance chief executive Peter Kelly was reacting to new Scottish Government figures on poverty and inequality.

He said: “Poverty is a profound injustice that robs people of what they need to build a decent life for themselves and a better future for our country. These figures show that MSPs in the next Scottish Parliament need to invest much more in the social foundation we all rely on.

“Because of changes in the way the figures have been worked out, we have to be cautious about the comparisons we make. But they show some welcome progress over the last few years, with the overall number of people in poverty falling by about 130,000 since 2021/22, and the number of children in poverty from 540,000 to 420,000.

“But we have serious concerns that those numbers could increase again, as people face yet another energy crisis and the prospect of rocketing living costs across the board.

“The figures show that there are 630,000 people in severe poverty – with children making up 150,000 of them. It is simply wrong that so many of our fellow citizens find themselves pushed so close to deprivation.”

The Poverty Alliance repeated its calls to boost the Scottish Child Payment to £55 a week.

Peter Kelly said: “Our new MSPs will have a legal responsibility to make sure that fewer than 10% of Scotland’s children are in poverty by 2030/31. Today’s figures show that 21% of our children are living with that daily injustice.

“We simply cannot allow this to continue. The Scottish Government can help by strengthening the support we give to households with children, and the UK Government can help by scrapping the unjust benefit cap.

“And over the course of the next Parliament, we will continue to build public support for real Living Wages and a Minimum Income Guarantee that will make sure everyone has what they need to use their talents for the benefit of themselves, their households, and all of us.”

Responding to today’s statistics on household incomes and poverty which show one in five children in Scotland are trapped in poverty, Chief Executive of Children First, Mary Glasgow said: “A small drop in child poverty does not change the urgent need for action to tackle Scotland’s childhood emergency and meet Scotland’s 2030 child poverty target.

“It is not acceptable that one in five children in Scotland are living in poverty. It has a devastating impact on children’s mental health, wellbeing, education and prospects that can last into adulthood. Reducing child poverty is an investment in Scotland’s future, improving public health, strengthening communities and reducing public costs in the long term.

“In the run up to the election, every political party must prioritise policies that support families, strengthen incomes and uphold Scotland’s commitment to eradicating child poverty.”

Commenting on today’s latest official poverty statistics, Debbie Horne, Scotland Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Independent Age said: “Today’s statistics show there are still too many pensioners living in poverty in Scotland. 

“As the national charity supporting older people on low incomes, we know that older people are skipping meals, washing in cold water and not turning the heating on. This is wrong and a social injustice.  

“As the Holyrood elections approach, all political parties must prioritise action to reduce pensioner poverty. This should start with a national strategy, a plan setting out the key actions to reduce poverty in older age and act as a map for how we will get there. 

“They must also pledge to improve the social security support for older people on low incomes, and commit to supporting older people improve the energy efficiency of homes. 

“We also urge the UK Government to introduce a social tariff for energy across the whole of the UK to reduce the cost of heating for older people on low incomes. The UK Government must also improve the take-up and adequacy of the payments they administer to older people. 

“The levels of poverty in later life are too high in Scotland, and with around 1.7 million older people now in poverty across the UK, today’s figures must be a call to action.” 

TRUSSELL commented: “It’s encouraging that child poverty is falling in Scotland. It shows the power of investing in social security.

“But it’s not acceptable that 1 in 5 children are locked in poverty. All parties must commit to decisive action to ensure every child has a decent start in life.”

Cara Hilton, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager at Trussell, said:  “Today, the Family Resources Survey has revealed a heartbreaking injustice; persistently high numbers of people across Scotland are trapped in the grip of severe hardship.  

“While the latest figures indicate that some people are getting back on their feet, the numbers of people facing hunger in our communities are still too high. As we find ourselves yet again facing uncertain times, we know that progress can be too easily undone. People just surviving could once again be pushed over the edge if the price of food and bills increases. 

“Food banks in our community provided more than 220,000 food parcels in Scotland in 2025 – that’s 64% more than in 2015. These new figures from the government confirm that 500,000 people are facing hunger across Scotland. This isn’t right.  

“With the Holyrood election just six weeks away, Trussell is calling on all political parties to commit to building a Scotland where everyone can afford the essentials and where every child has a decent start in life.

“This should include immediate investment to increase the Scottish Child Payment to £40 a week, increasing to £55 by the end of the next Holyrood session. We need the Scottish government to build firmer foundations for people on the lowest incomes so all of us have the support we need to thrive.”  

Latest poverty statistics published

Two poverty statistics publications were released by the Scottish Government yesterday. Poverty and income inequality in Scotland 2022-25 covers the period up to March 2025, presenting poverty rates for children, working-age adults and pensioners.

Methodological changes have been applied to the statistics in this report as the Department for Work and Pensions have linked the source data from the Family Resources Survey to administrative records on social security benefits.

As a result, there have been revisions to previously published poverty rates back to 2021/22, and further revisions are planned as part of on-going development work. Users should therefore note that caution is needed when interpreting the statistics to assess trends over time.

The most recent three-year averages for 2022-25 show that:

• Around 17 per cent of Scotland’s population (940,000 people) were living in relative poverty after housing costs. This was 15 per cent (840,000 people) before housing costs. Poverty rates for Scotland’s population have been broadly stable for around a decade.
• Children are more likely to be in relative poverty: 21 per cent of children are in relative poverty after housing costs, compared to 13 per cent of pensioners and 18 per cent of working-age adults. Children in relative poverty are more likely to be in a working household; 75% of children in relative poverty have at least one person working in the household while 25% have no-one in household working.
• The median household income before housing costs was £707 per week and after housing costs was £636. Prior to 2021/22, median incomes had increased slowly but steadily since the recession in 2008/09.

Persistent Poverty in Scotland 2010-24 presents statistics on people who live in relative poverty for at least three out of the last four years. The latest figures show that around one in ten people in Scotland (11 per cent) were in persistent poverty, after housing costs, between 2020 and 2024. Persistent poverty rates were highest for children (17 per cent), and lower for working-age adults (10 per cent) and pensioners (9 per cent). 

Persistent poverty is an important measure because the longer someone is in poverty, the more it impacts on their health, well-being, and overall life chances. These impacts can affect an individual throughout their lifetime. 

Further information on the two publications is set out below:

This Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland publication contains statistics on poverty, child poverty, poverty risks for various equality characteristics, household income and income inequality for Scotland. This report also includes statistics on household food security. The data comes from the Department for Work and Pensions’ Family Resources Survey (FRS), Households Below Average Income dataset. Comparable UK income and poverty figures are published on the same day by DWP.

Statistics from this report have been revised, back to 2021/22, due to a methodology change. The FRS is now linked to administrative data, which means the majority of FRS responses for benefit income and tax credits have been replaced with data from DWP’s administrative sources. Further years of linked estimates back to survey year 2018/19 will be published in summer 2026 in a follow up release. The absolute poverty measure has also been amended as a result of the data linkage; full details can be found in the report.

This publication has been designated as official statistics in development in line with the other devolved administrations in order to acknowledge the changes to the methodology and that there will be a period of flux as further methodological changes are implemented. Future changes are announced by DWP in their release strategy, which is updated periodically as plans develop. A statistical blog has been published on the Scottish Government website to inform users of developments.

Figures are presented in the main report are three-year averages of each estimate. Three-year estimates are better to identify trends over time. The four child poverty measures in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act are based on single-year figures. These statistics are available in the reference tables and in the child poverty summary. The single-year estimates exhibit more year-on-year fluctuation compared to the three-year averages and should be interpreted with caution.

This Persistent Poverty in Scotland publication presents estimates of the proportion of people in Scotland who live in persistent poverty. The data comes from the Understanding Society Survey, and the latest statistics cover the period from 2020 to 2024. Statistics from this report are badged as official statistics. 

Poverty statistics are used by the Scottish Government and other organisations to monitor progress in tackling poverty and child poverty, and to analyse what drives poverty and what works for tackling poverty and income inequality.

Official statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Key poverty measures:

Relative poverty: A person is in relative poverty if their current household income is less than 60% of the current UK median. Relative poverty statistics fall if income growth at the lower end of the income distribution is greater than overall income growth.

Absolute poverty: A person is in absolute poverty if their current household income is less than 60% of the UK median in a given reference year, adjusted for inflation. Absolute poverty statistics fall if low income households are seeing their incomes rise faster than inflation. Due to the structural break introduced by the data linkage the reference year for absolute poverty has been moved from 2010/11 to 2024/25. 

Combined low income and material deprivation identifies the proportion of children in households with incomes below 70% of the median UK income and going without certain basic essential goods and services.

Persistent poverty identifies the number of people in relative poverty for three or more out of four years. People who live in poverty for several years may be affected by it throughout their lifetime.

The poverty publications present poverty figures before and after housing costs. Before-housing-costs figures are a basic measure of household income from earnings and benefits. After-housing-costs figures subtract spending on rents, mortgage interest payments and other unavoidable housing costs from this basic income. In Scotland, poverty statistics focus mainly on poverty after housing costs.

Further information on income and poverty statistics within Scotland is available.