One in five children in Scotland remain in poverty and ministers need a “much bolder” plan to tackle the issue, a landmark new report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found.
This year, as well as assessing the national picture, JRF have focused on the vital role of local government in reducing poverty, backed by new public attitudes data and engagement with people with lived experience.
This report sets out the critical role that councils play in reducing poverty in their communities across Scotland. It covers how the public feel about their local councils and services, the radical local government funding reform that is urgently needed, and argues that councils should use all available levers to reduce and prevent poverty.
New data for 2022–25 shows that:
Despite some progress, the legal target to reduce relative child poverty to 10% by 2030/31 is set to be missed by a wide margin. Interim targets have been missed, and the Scottish Government’s current plans will not deliver the scale of change needed to shift the dial.