The Poverty Alliance have launched our new campaigning tool to allow you to easily email your constituency and regional MSPs urging them to push for the doubling of the Scottish Child Payment now. Children growing up in the grip of poverty can’t wait.
Our e-action comes after over 120 anti-poverty organisations, children’s charities, community groups, think tanks, trade unions, faith leaders – including the Moderator of the Church of Scotland – and academics wrote to the First Minister urging her to “do the right thing” by using the upcoming Programme for Government to commit to doubling the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s budget, the £10 per week per child benefit for low income families.
The letter – coordinated by members of the End Child Poverty coalition in Scotland – states that doubling the payment now would “signal that ending child poverty will be a defining priority for this Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament.”
‘Do the right thing and double the Scottish Child Payment now’ civil society coalition tells First Minister
A coalition of over 100 anti-poverty organisations, children’s charities, community groups, think tanks, trade unions, faith leaders – including the Moderator of the Church of Scotland – and academics have today written to the First Minister urging her to “do the right thing” by using the upcoming Programme for Government to commit to doubling the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s budget, the £10 per week per child benefit for low income families.
The letter – coordinated by members of the End Child Poverty coalition in Scotland – states that doubling the payment now would “signal that ending child poverty will be a defining priority for this Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament.” It has been sent after the Scottish Government – despite all of Scotland’s five main political parties committing to the move at May’s Holyrood elections – have so far failed to set a timescale for the doubling of the payment, stating only that it will take place by the end of the parliamentary term in 2026. The campaigners say the increase is needed now to help families recover from the pandemic and to meet the government’s own statutory 2023/24 interim child poverty targets.
The coalition has issued the plea at a time of growing concern over the numbers of people across the country – particularly women, disabled people and Black and minority ethnic people – being pulled into hardship and with analysis showing that, on current trends, the Scottish Government will fail to meet its child poverty reduction targets.
The letter issues the stark warning that if Scottish ministers fail to double the payment now then “more and more children will be pulled into poverty and the opportunity to meet the interim child poverty targets will be missed.”
Polly Jones (Head of Scotland, Trussell Trust), said:“Food bank use has rocketed by 63% over the last five years because people can’t afford the basics. Over the last year, families have struggled more than most. We have the powers and we have the cross-party consensus to double the Scottish Child Payment now. If Scottish ministers are serious about making ending child poverty a ‘national mission’ then we must not delay.”
Eilidh Dickson (Policy and Parliamentary Manager, Engender) said:“Child poverty and women’s poverty are inextricably linked. Women continue to provide the majority of care for children, are more likely to work in underpaid and undervalued roles, and to work part time or rely on precarious contracts. Women are also twice as likely as men to rely on social security for all or part of their income, even when aspects, for example the two-child limit, mean it fails to meet their needs.
Doubling the Scottish Child Payment is an urgently needed response to supporting children and their caregivers. The Scottish Government must implement this now as part of its mission to eradicate child poverty, while also looking to the gender pay gap action plan and other reforms to social security. The pandemic only adds further urgency to this call as inequality and poverty deepen.”
Professor John McKendrick (Co-Director, Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University) said:“Poverty in Scotland can be solved, and we should not accept it. The Scottish Child Payment is a bold and progressive development that has the potential to lift many children out of poverty. But, with a rising tide of child poverty threatening to overwhelm, communities across Scotland, this potential needs to be realised now. If we are serious about tackling child poverty, doubling the payment now is the right thing for the Scottish Government to do.”
Larry Flanagan (General Secretary, EIS) said:“The EIS unequivocally supports the call for the Scottish Government to act decisively against child poverty and double the Child Payment now rather than delaying when there is urgent need. Levels of poverty experienced by families in Scotland continue to be unacceptably high, worsened by the economic ravages of the pandemic.
The real risk that poverty poses to the educational outcomes and life chances of large numbers of children is one that Scotland as a country simply should not be taking as we look to emergence from the pandemic and education recovery.”
The letter – along with the full list of signatories – can be read here:
More than 120 organisations from across Scotland are urging First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to double the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s Programme for Government.
The campaigners say the 1 in 4 children living in poverty in Scotland cannot wait.
In an open letter the End Child Poverty coalition is calling on The First Minister to “do the right thing” to help thousands of poverty-stricken children and families.
The letter in full:
Dear First Minister,
As a broad coalition of national organisations, community groups, academics, trade unions and faith groups, we are writing to you to urge you to use the upcoming Programme for Government to commit to doubling the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s budget.
We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty, evidenced in the setting of statutory child poverty targets, introducing the Scottish Child Payment and the upcoming incorporation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. These steps have laid the foundation for tackling child poverty in Scotland and we have been delighted that they have been supported across Scotland’s political spectrum.
This cross-party agreement was also evident in May’s Holyrood elections, when all Scotland’s five main political parties committed to doubling the Scottish Child Payment. Such political consensus is welcome, and provides the opportunity for your government to act quickly and decisively in doubling the payment now.
To do so would provide a lifeline to families who are struggling to stay afloat. Even before Covid-19, people across Scotland were being swept up in a rising tide of poverty, with child poverty rising in every Scottish local authority. And the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities in Scotland and pulled many more people – particularly women, disabled people, and Black and minority ethnic people – into hardship.
With women’s poverty being inextricably linked to child poverty, the pandemic’s impact has pulled children across Scotland ever deeper into poverty. It has hit lone parents – the overwhelming majority of whom are women – particularly hard, a group already disproportionately affected by years of social security cuts.
Unlocking people from this poverty requires long-term work to tackle the structural inequalities around the labour market – particularly for women, disabled people and Black and minority ethnic people – and it will also require action like further expanding childcare provision. But we also need action now to boost incomes in the short term.
Every level of government has a duty to boost incomes where it can, and we are clear that the UK Government must scrap its planned and unjust £20 Universal Credit cut. But just as the UK Government has a moral responsibility to do the right thing, so too does the Scottish Government have a moral responsibility to use all of the powers at its disposal to loosen the grip of poverty on people’s lives.
We have the powers, we have the urgent need, and we have the cross-party consensus to double the Scottish Child Payment. If your government is to truly make ending child poverty a ‘national mission’, and if we are to ensure that a more just Scotland emerges from the pandemic, then we must not delay. Children growing up in the grip of poverty right now – as well as their parents and care-givers – simply cannot endure until the end of this Parliament to be unlocked from poverty. Their lives and life chances are too important for this action to wait.
The evidence is clear that if it is doubled now, it will represent the single most impactful action that could be taken to help meet the interim child poverty targets in 2023, and would signal that ending child poverty will be a defining priority for this Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament. If it is not, more and more children will be pulled into poverty and the opportunity to meet the interim child poverty targets will be missed. Under the current roll out plan and value, the Scottish Child Payment will reduce poverty in Scotland by between 2 and 3 percentage points. This could leave child poverty rates as high as 26% in 2023/24, when the interim target in legislation for that year is 18%. We cannot allow that to happen.
We therefore urge your government to do the right thing, to capitalise on the cross-party consensus that already exists, and to commit to doubling the Scottish Child Payment in this year’s budget. We look forward to your response.
Kind regards,
Peter Kelly, Director, Poverty Alliance
Claire Telfer, Head of Scotland, Save the Children
Paul Carberry, Director for Scotland, Action for Children
SallyAnn Kelly, Chief Executive Officer, Aberlour
John Dickie, Director, CPAG Scotland
Martin Crewe, Director, Barnardo’s Scotland
Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland
Satwat Rehman, Director, One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS)
Amy Woodhouse, Joint Interim CEO, Children in Scotland
Christine Carlin, Scotland Director, Home-Start UK
Clare Simpson, Manager, Parenting Across Scotland
Anna Ritchie Allan, Executive Director, Close the Gap
Polly Jones, Head of Scotland, The Trussell Trust
Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive, Children 1st
Eilidh Dickson, Policy and Parliamentary Manager, Engender
Hugh Foy, Director, Xaverians UK Region
Russell Gunson, Director, IPPR Scotland
Dr Patrycja Kupiec, CEO, YWCA Scotland – The Young Women’s Movement
The Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Tankerness QC (Jim Wallace), Moderator of the General Assembly, The Church of Scotland
Emma Cormack, Chief Executive Officer, The Health Agency
Gillian Kirkwood, Chief Executive, Y sort it Youth Centre
Agnes Tolmie, Chair, Scottish Women’s Convention
Linda Tuthill, CEO, The Action Group
Steven McCluskey, CEO, Bikes for Refugees
Trishna Singh OBE, Director, Sikh Sanjog
Professor Adrian Sinfield, Emeritus Professor of Social Policy, University of Edinburgh
Jimmy Wilson, CEO, FARE Scotland
Ian Bruce, Chief Executive, Glasgow CVS
Revd Gary Noonan, Minister, Houston and Killellan Kirk
Jacqui Reid, Project Lead, EBI Unites
Innes McMinn, Manager, Independent Living Support
Suzanne Slavin, CEO, Ayr Housing Aid Centre
Fiona Rae, Interim Chief Executive, Community Food Initiatives North East
Mhairi Snowden, Director, Human Rights Consortium Scotland
Juliet Harris, Director, Together (Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights
Tressa Burke, CEO, Glasgow Disability Alliance
Martin Wilkie-McFarlane, Director, Wellhouse Housing Association
Morna Simpkins, Scotland Director, MS Society
Kara Batchelor, Operations Manager, Alexander’s Community Development
Murray Dawson, Chief Executive, Station House Media Unit
Ashli Mullen, Creative Director, Friends of Romano Lav
Professor John McKendrick, Co-Director of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University
Justina Murray, Chief Executive Officer, Scottish Families Affected by Drugs and Alcohol
The Poverty Alliance have launched Weathering the Storm, a summary report from the Get Heard Scotland (GHS) programme in 2020/21.
GHS is a programme coordinated by the Poverty Alliance and funded by the Scottish Government as part of Every Child Every Chance, the Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan.
GHS is designed to help people on low incomes get their voices heard on the policies and decisions that most impact their lives and their communities.
Get Heard Scotland gathers evidence on the experience of poverty, from people who are living on low incomes, as well as from organisations and groups working on the ground to help address poverty. Crucially, it focuses on the solutions needed to loosen the grip of poverty on people’s lives.
The report that has been published today covers GHS engagement in 2020/21, which focused primarily on the local authority areas of Inverclyde and Renfrewshire. Covering issues like mental health, employment, food insecurity, digital access, debt, and social security, it provides an overview of the experiences of people living on low incomes – as well as of organisations working with people on low incomes – during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Peter Kelly, Director, Poverty Alliance, said: “Over the last 18 months, the grip of poverty has tightened on the lives of people across Scotland. But it is important to remember that, even before the pandemic, over one million people in Scotland were living in that grip.
“We know that not just listening to – but acting on – the voices and experiences of people living in poverty is key to ending poverty in Scotland. So we are pleased to publish this report today, that focuses primarily on Inverclyde and Renfrewshire but which has relevance for every part of the country.
“In both local authorities, there has been a genuine desire to find more effective ways of meaningfully involving people with experience of poverty in shaping local anti-poverty policy. We hope that the work as part of Get Heard Scotland will have contributed towards making participatory policy making the norm in the future.”
Record £978 million committed to help deliver change
Investment of almost £1 billion to tackle child poverty in the last financial year has been welcomed by Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison.
She has also pledged to bring forward “game changing” policies as she called for society to unite to eradicate child poverty in Scotland.
Ms Robison was speaking as she detailed the findings of the third progress report on Tackling Child Poverty. She said: “The report highlights our investment in low income families with children continued to grow as we sought to offer support during the pandemic.
“Direct support to families with children rose to more than £978 million in 2020-21 – including £118 million in response to COVID-19.
“This was part of almost £2.5 billion invested to support low income households, including more than £434 million of COVID-related investment in social assistance.
“The report also shows that all 66 of the actions we have previously reported on are either in progress or being delivered.
“We have made considerable progress over the first three years of this plan, but further action is needed.
“We must continue to deliver at the pace and scale with which we responded to the pandemic.
“We must work across government and with wider society to bring forward the game-changing policies needed to deliver on our ambition to eradicate child poverty.”
Ms Robison highlighted a range of important supports introduced in the last 12 months. These include:
Scottish Child Payment for eligible children aged under six, with thousands of families already benefitting from an additional £40 every four weeks
Investment of more than £56 million in the free school meal provision for low income families during school closures, periods of online learning and school holidays
The distribution of Pandemic Support Payments, with £100 paid in spring and a further £100 being paid around the start of the summer holidays. This is part of a £520 package this year, benefitting around 145,000 children and young people from low income households
Ms Robison added: “We have always been clear that delivering upon the child poverty targets will be incredibly challenging, especially given the limited powers available to this Parliament.
“The Covid pandemic will make reducing poverty that much harder. However, we are serious about ending child poverty in Scotland and have committed a wide range of actions to do just that.”
Lothian MSP Miles Briggs asked Shona Robison, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, what plans the Scottish Government has to make sure we see an end to households with children and pregnant women living in temporary accommodation – and how this will be prioritised during this Parliament.
The number of children in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh has risen to 1,750 as of 30th September 2020, 245 children more than 30 September 2019, when 1,505 children were in temporary accommodation, an increase of 16%.
Across Scotland there are 7,900 children in temporary accommodation, with Edinburgh making up 22% of all children in temporary accommodation.
The number of children living in temporary accommodation has increased over the last two years, with 1,190 children living in temporary accommodation on 30 September 2018, increasing to 1,750 on 30 September 2020.
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government said that reducing the number of children in temporary accommodation would be one of her top priorities.
Lothian MSP, Miles Briggs, said:“We all know that a safe and stable home is vital for a child’s wellbeing and development. After 14 years of this SNP Government the situation is getting worse and worse, especially here in the Capital.
“No child should be without a secure home and it is unacceptable that the number of children in temporary accommodation is increasing year on year under this SNP Government.
“It is concerning that we are seeing a significant increase in the Capital. The underfunding of Edinburgh City Council by SNP Ministers must be addressed if we are to address the crisis in housing we are seeing running out of control in Edinburgh.”
Child poverty has risen in every Scottish local authority since 2015, according to new research published today by the End Child Poverty coalition. The new data shows the scale of the challenge faced by UK, Scottish and local government if commitments to end child poverty in Scotland are to be met.
The research by Loughborough University, on behalf of the End Child Poverty coalition, shows that, even before the pandemic*, levels of child poverty in Scotland ranged from nearly one in six children in the Shetland Islands and East Renfrewshire to nearly one in three in Glasgow – once housing costs are taken into account.
Across the UK the North East of England has seen the most dramatic rise in child poverty in the past five years with child poverty rising by over a third – from 26% of all children to 37% – over five years.
Scotland has lower levels of child poverty (24%) than England (30%) or Wales (31%). However, campaigners in Scotland say that there can be no room for complacency if statutory child poverty targets agreed by all the Holyrood parties are to be met.
The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act, passed unanimously by the last parliament, requires the new Scottish government to ensure fewer than 18% of children are living in poverty by 2023/24, on course to less than 10% by 2030. Councils and local health boards are also required to publish annual Local Child Poverty Action Reports setting out action being taken at local level to tackle child poverty. The End Child Poverty campaigners are urging that local powers, including over economic development, housing and welfare, are all used to maximise family incomes and reduce the costs parents face.
Responding to the latest figures Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “In Scotland, we share a responsibility to care for all of our children. These statistics show the need for bold, far-reaching action to loosen the grip of poverty on people’s lives, and ensure each of us has what we need to live a decent and dignified life.
“Stemming this rising tide of hardship must be a priority for the new Scottish Government, and there are actions that can be taken right now to do just that – starting with doubling the Scottish Child Payment and accelerating its rollout for children over the age of 6. This would mean families who are struggling to stay afloat will receive the support they need to avoid being swept into poverty.”
Speaking on behalf of members of End Child Poverty John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, added: “Solid foundations have been laid in Scotland for future progress on child poverty, not least the introduction of the Scottish child payment and an increasing focus on action at local level.
“But this new data is a stark reminder that child poverty was still rising in every part of Scotland, even before the pandemic struck. The challenge now is for government at all levels to use every power they have to boost family incomes and reduce the costs that struggling parents face.
“The new Scottish parliament must act on election promises and make tackling child poverty its top priority. The cross party commitment to at least doubling the Scottish child payment needs to be implemented as a matter of utmost urgency in order to help meet the 2023/24 targets.
“But child poverty also needs to be a priority at local level. Local powers, including over economic development, housing and welfare, must be used to maximum effect to ensure all families have a disposable income fit for giving children a decent start in life.”
The End Child Poverty coalition is also calling on the UK government to recognise the scale of the problem and its impact on children’s lives.
They say a credible UK government plan is needed to end child poverty across the UK, including a commitment to increase UK child benefits. Given the extent to which families are already struggling, the £20 per week cut to Universal Credit planned in October should also be revoked they say, with the support also extended to those still receiving financial assistance from the old benefit system, referred to as ‘legacy benefits’, before they are switched to Universal Credit.
“The figures speak for themselves – the situation for children couldn’t be starker. We all want to live in a society where children are supported to be the best they can be, but the reality is very different for too many.
“The UK Government can be in no doubt about the challenge it faces if it is serious about ‘levelling up’ parts of the country hardest hit by poverty. After the year we’ve all had, they owe it to our children to come up with a plan to tackle child poverty that includes a boost to children’s benefits. And they need to scrap plans to cut Universal Credit given parents and children are having a tough enough time as it is.”
Over 100 organisations from across Scotland have today written to the leaders of Scotland’s political parties, urging them to commit to a radical extension of free bus travel, in a move that they say would have a transformative impact on the lives of people across Scotland’s communities.
The call has been made as part of the Poverty Alliance’s Everyone Aboard campaign, which asks for their support in extending fre bus travel to under 25s and people on Universal Credit and other low-income benefits.
The coalition of organisations – coordinated by the Poverty Alliance and including Friends of the Earth Scotland, the Scottish Youth Parliament and Barnardo’s Scotland – are making the call at a time of growing poverty in Scotland, with recent Scottish Government statistics showing over 1 million people in Scotland are now living in the grip of poverty.
Bus travel will, the letter states, be critical in stemming the rising tide of pandemic-related youth unemployment, with bus travel particularly important for young people and people on low incomes to help them access the labour market. Without this action, the organisations have warned, they “risk being left behind in our economic and social recovery.”
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “We are calling on the leaders of Scotland’s political parties to take the bold, far-reaching action to help loosen the grip of poverty on people’s lives. Removing the barrier to transport would be a significant step towards building a Scotland where everyone is included, no matter their income.
“This move would also help advance gender equality, as women disproportionately rely on public transport to access jobs, healthcare and activities to boost their wellbeing.
“Lone parents, who are predominantly women, would particularly benefit. Expanding the use of public transport will play an important role in reducing Scotland’s emissions and responding to the climate emergency.
“Extending free bus travel is a key way the next Scottish Government can help make Scotland a greener and more just place for us all to live.”
Mollie McGoran MSYP, Trustee of the Scottish Youth Parliament, said: “Young people and people on low incomes have been some of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and so must be put at the heart of the recovery.
“That’s why we support the aims of the Poverty Alliance’s Everyone Aboard campaign to provide free bus travel for young people and people on low incomes in Scotland.
“We believe that Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government should provide funding to support initiatives which make it easier, cheaper, and safer for young people to use active and sustainable travel options.
“Our 2018 national campaign All Aboard found young people feel bus fares are too high. The cost of public transport creates barriers to participation which are denying young people and those on low incomes access to opportunities, and this proposal would be a great step in the right direction.”
Gavin Thomson, Air Pollution Campaigner, Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “Transport is the biggest emitting sector in Scotland. To meet our climate change targets, bold action must be taken to promote cleaner forms of travel, like public transport, and lead a just transition away from fossil fuel private car use.
“Extending free bus travel to all young people under 25 and those on Universal Credit will form an important part of the solution and help ensure no one is left behind as we transform our transport system.
“The upcoming Scottish Parliament election provides political parties an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to tackling climate change. We must seize it.”
Covering the period just before the current pandemic, the statistics suggest a gradual increase in child poverty levels since the early 2010s.
Two out of the four child poverty measures in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act show a gradual increase, and two show little change. While the poverty risk is much lower for children where someone in the household is in paid work compared to those in workless households, not all work pays enough to lift the household above the poverty line.
Over two thirds of children in poverty live in a household with someone in paid work.
There is little change in poverty levels for working-age adults and pensioners. Pensioners are less likely to be in poverty compared to working-age adults and children: 14% of pensioners are in relative poverty after housing costs, compared to 19% of working-age adults and 24% of children.
New food security analysis suggests that while most people (84%) live in households with high food security, this falls to only 60% for people in poverty. A household has high food security if people never need to worry about running out of food before they can afford to buy more, and never struggle to afford balanced meals.
Household incomes continue to rise. A typical two-adult household has £27,800 per year after tax and including benefits. Income inequality has fluctuated since the beginning of this data collection in the mid-nineties and continues to do so.
Adults under 25 are more likely to be in poverty than older adults. Non-white ethnic minorities are more likely to be in poverty compared to white ethnic groups. Muslim adults are more likely to be in poverty compared to adults of Christian and other faiths and those with no religion.
Some, but not all, of the higher poverty risk for ethnic minorities and Muslims can be explained by their lower average age. Single adults, especially single parents, and those who are divorced or separated are more likely to be in poverty compared to married, cohabiting and widowed adults.
People living in households with disabled household members are also more likely to be in poverty than those with no disabled household members.
These figures are produced in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
Stemming the rising tide of poverty across Scotland must be the defining issue of the Holyrood election, the Poverty Alliance said as they launched their manifesto earlier this month. They call for all political parties to commit to a range of ambitious and bold action to boost incomes and reduce costs.
A Scotland for All of Us, puts forward a package of measures that all of Scotland’s political parties are being urged to back in order to loosen the grip of poverty on the lives of people across Scotland. These include:
Committing to a Minimum Income Guarantee, which would ensure that nobody in Scotland had an income below an agreed minimum level;
At least doubling the new Scottish Child Payment, and increasing financial support for unpaid carers and disabled people;
Extending free bus travel to more young people and to people on low incomes;
Ending digital exclusion, by providing low cost or free broadband to low income households;
Attaching conditions to all public sector grants, funding and contracts that require payment of the real Living Wage and Fair Work;
Adjusting our income tax levels and thresholds to fund greater investment in tackling poverty and exploring the use of wealth taxes;
Giving communities a greater say over how money is spent in their local area.
The manifesto is launched at a time of growing hardship across Scotland. Even before the pandemic, over one million people – including almost one in four children – were living in poverty in Scotland. Now with many more people being swept into poverty, Scotland’s child poverty reduction targets remain unlikely to be met without more urgent action in the coming years.
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “In Scotland we believe in protecting one another from harm, and in the principle that every child should have every chance. Yet Scotland is also a country with unacceptably high levels of poverty and inequality.
“Addressing the rising tide of poverty that is affecting so many communities should be at the heart of every party manifesto, and with the pandemic still having an impact this is not a time for timidity. All parties must pledge to take the bold and ambitious action to boost incomes and reduce costs that we have set out, including committing to a Minimum Income Guarantee and to taking action to create a more just economy and labour market.
The next Scottish Parliament must be remembered as one that reshaped Scotland for the better, that prioritised the needs of those facing poverty and inequality, and that built a Scotland not just for some of us, but for all of us.”
Scottish Government Poverty Statistics background
The two full statistical publications are available here:
Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland contains statistics on poverty, child poverty, poverty risks for various equality characteristics, household income and income inequality for Scotland. This report also includes new statistics on household food security. The data comes from the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Family Resources Survey, Households Below Average Income dataset. Comparable UK income and poverty figures are published on the same day by DWP.
Figures are presented as three-year averages of each estimate. Three-year estimates best identify trends over time. Single-year estimates are also available in the reference tables. The latest poverty and household income data in this report covers the period from April 2017 to March 2020, just before the first lockdown due to COVID-19.
Persistent Poverty in Scotland 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 2015 to 2019.
These 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.
Key poverty measures:
Relative poverty: A household is in relative poverty if its income is below 60 percent of the middle household income in the UK (the poverty threshold). Relative poverty is a measure of whether the income of the poorest households are keeping pace with middle income households across the UK.
Absolute poverty: A household is in absolute poverty if its income is below the relative poverty threshold from 2010/11. This way, it measures whether the incomes of the poorest households are keeping pace with rising prices.
Combined low income and material deprivation identifies the number of children in families that cannot afford basic essential goods and services because of a low income (below 70 percent of the middle household income).
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 are affected by it through their lifetime.
Household income is adjusted for household size.
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. The poverty estimates in this summary refer to relative poverty after housing costs.
Household food security: Household food security questions were newly added to the Family Resources Survey in 2019/20. They ask about whether people were worried about running out of food, had to reduce meal sizes or skip meals. Food security levels can be “high”, “marginal”, “low”, “very low”.
Official statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff – more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland is available. About our statistics – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Ahead of the Scottish Parliament election, a new campaign has today been launched, calling on Scotland’s political parties to commit to extending free bus travel to everyone receiving Universal Credit (and other low-income benefits) and under 25s.
The Everyone Aboard campaign – coordinated by the Poverty Alliance and supported by a range of children’s charities, anti-poverty groups, trade unions and environmental organisations – is launched at a time of growing hardship across Scotland.
Young people have been particularly hard-hit by job disruption as a result of the pandemic. Research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that under 25s, especially women, have been hit harder economically than any other age group. They have a higher chance of furlough, precarious employment, unemployment, and are the most likely to work in low-paid sectors such as hospitality and retail.
But too many people in Scotland, the campaign says, were locked out of accessing vital opportunities because they could not afford the cost of public transport. Between 2014 and 2019 bus fares rose by 18%; while the value of social security payments fell, and wages stagnated.
The campaign is also highlighting how greater use of public transport will be vital if Scotland is to meet its climate change goals. The Scottish Youth Parliament found that young people would be more likely to use the bus if fares were less expensive. Extending free bus travel to all young people under 25 would accelerate the normalisation of bus use in place of cars.
In a letter sent yesterday to Scotland’s party leaders, Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said:
“As a society, we believe we should look out for each other. But those whose finances have suffered most during the pandemic, people on low incomes and young people under 25, risk being left behind in our economic recovery.
Greater access to free bus transport is not only good for the environment, but will help tackle poverty, reduce geographical inequalities and help increase access to essential services.
The next Scottish Parliament has the chance to build a Scotland for all of us, one where no one is left behind. On the road to recovery, we can make sure everyone has a seat, by providing free bus travel to everyone receiving Universal Credit and other low-income benefits, and to all young people under 25.”
Stemming the rising tide of poverty across Scotland must be the defining issue of the Holyrood election, the Poverty Alliance have said, with calls for all political parties to commit to a range of ambitious and bold action to boost incomes and reduce costs.
The calls were made as the Poverty Alliance launched A Scotland for All of Us, a package of measures that all of Scotland’s political parties are being urged to back in order to loosen the grip of poverty on the lives of people across Scotland. The measures include:
Committing to a Minimum Income Guarantee, which would ensure that nobody in Scotland had an income below an agreed minimum level;
At least doubling the new Scottish Child Payment, and increasing financial support for unpaid carers and disabled people;
Extending free bus travel to more young people and to people on low incomes;
Ending digital exclusion, by providing low cost or free broadband to low income households;
Attaching conditions to all public sector grants, funding and contracts that require payment of the real Living Wage and Fair Work;
Adjusting our income tax levels and thresholds to fund greater investment in tackling poverty and exploring the use of wealth taxes;
Giving communities a greater say over how money is spent in their local area.
The manifesto is launched at a time of growing hardship across Scotland. Even before the pandemic, over one million people – including almost one in four children – were living in poverty in Scotland.
Now with many more people being swept into poverty, Scotland’s child poverty reduction targets remain unlikely to be met without more urgent action in the coming years.
Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “In Scotland we believe in protecting one another from harm, and in the principle that every child should have every chance. Yet Scotland is also a country with unacceptably high levels of poverty and inequality.
“Addressing the rising tide of poverty that is affecting so many communities should be at the heart of every party manifesto, and with the pandemic still having an impact this is not a time for timidity.
“All parties must pledge to take the bold and ambitious action to boost incomes and reduce costs that we have set out, including committing to a Minimum Income Guarantee and to taking action to create a more just economy and labour market.
“The next Scottish Parliament must be remembered as one that reshaped Scotland for the better, that prioritised the needs of those facing poverty and inequality, and that built a Scotland not just for some of us, but for all of us.”
