Analysis from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows around one in four children remain in poverty.
Scotland will miss its child poverty reduction targets by a “large margin” unless political parties meet the moment and deliver radical action in the next Scottish Parliament, according to a landmark new report.
The stark analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) shows that around one in four children (23 per cent) remain in poverty.
Voicing frustration at the lack of ambition and pace of progress, it says poverty levels are “largely the same” as they were at the start of the current parliamentary session in 2021, despite some signs that the Scottish Child Payment is starting to have an impact.
The JRF is calling for all the parties standing in next year’s election to increase social security spending and expand free nursery places for low-income households to come within range of hitting the target.
The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 set targets to cut child poverty to 18 per cent by 2024/25 and to 10 per cent by 2030/31.
But the Poverty in Scotland 2025 report says: “The Scottish Government has not met the interim child poverty reduction targets and remains far from the 2030/31 final targets.”
It adds that unless something radical changes, “the Scottish Parliament will miss its child poverty reduction target by a large margin”.
Other key findings in the report are that poverty is deepening across Scotland, with nearly one in 10 people in very deep poverty, with incomes below 40 per cent of the median. The relative poverty line is below 60 per cent.
In-work poverty is increasingly common. Six in 10 people in poverty live in a household where someone works.
Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of children in poverty live in a home with a working parent.
Universal Credit rates are too low to escape poverty, with 42 per cent of people in a family in receipt of a low-income benefit such as Universal Credit being trapped in poverty.
Housing costs are causing poverty, particularly for renters, with one in 10 people in rented accommodation being pulled into poverty for this reason.
Chris Birt, Joseph Rowntree Foundation associate director for Scotland, said: “This report shows the results of today’s failures on tackling poverty, but there is so much we can do to make things better, if our politicians have the courage to act boldly.
“With nearly a quarter of a million children still experiencing poverty, there is much to be done to ensure that every child in Scotland has the childhood they deserve.
“We should be aiming for a country where everyone has a decent affordable home, where work gives us enough to get by on, and where we all have enough to pay the bills.
“People are feeling ignored and overlooked by decisionmakers, and it is crucial that the next parliament focuses on the things that matter to people, like tackling child poverty.
“Our message to all political parties ahead of the Holyrood election is this: you might try to meet our poverty targets and fail, but it is unacceptable not to try at all.”
