This Scottish Government report provides an evidence-based baseline to better understand child poverty rates across the UK nations and the respective contributions of Scottish and UK Government policies to tackling child poverty since 2010 in Scotland.
The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 set out statutory commitments to reduce child poverty in Scotland. Since then, the Scottish Government has published three Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plans setting out how devolved powers and available budgets will drive progress. However, a range of factors that influence child poverty levels remain outwith Scottish Government control.
The UK Government’s recent Child Poverty Strategy highlights a commitment to reducing child poverty through partnership working, respecting devolution settlements and complementing activity across the UK nations. In this context, this report provides an evidence-based baseline to support understanding of the respective contributions of Scottish and UK Government policies to tackling child poverty since 2010.
The review adopts a three-strand approach comprising: trends analysis, a strategy overview and a rapid evidence review.
The report addresses the following research questions:
1. What are the trends in child poverty over time between Scotland and the and the UK as a whole? Where and how do these trends differ?
2. What strategic approaches have been taken by governments across the UK since 2010 to tackle child poverty? How do these approaches differ in scope?
3. To what extent can changes in child poverty outcomes in Scotland be attributed to UK Government policy action? Which policies have made significant contributions?