{"id":103087,"date":"2025-01-29T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=103087"},"modified":"2025-01-29T09:02:04","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T09:02:04","slug":"child-poverty-in-uk-why-scotland-is-leading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/child-poverty-in-uk-why-scotland-is-leading\/","title":{"rendered":"Child Poverty in the UK: Why Scotland Is Leading the Way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>According to recent research by the <strong>Joseph Rowntree Foundation<\/strong> (JRF), Scotland is on course to drastically reduce child poverty, defying the trend of rising rates throughout the United Kingdom. By 2029, Scotland&#8217;s child poverty rate is expected to fall to<strong> 21.8%<\/strong>, whilst England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are expected to see higher rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The impact of welfare measures unique to Scotland, like the <strong>Scottish Child Payment<\/strong> and the anticipated reduction of the two-child benefit cap starting in <strong>2026<\/strong>, is highlighted in JRF&#8217;s analysis. Campaigners are calling for governments to work together to solve the issue of child poverty in other regions of the UK, where it is still stagnating or increasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scotland\u2019s Policies Drive a Decline in Child Poverty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/empty-homes-crisis-in-scotland\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"100717\">Scotland<\/a>\u2019s welfare policies have been credited with reversing the UK-wide trend of rising child poverty, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jrf.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">JRF<\/a>\u2019s <strong>latest annual report<\/strong>. Without further policy changes, the country is projected to maintain a significantly lower rate than the rest of the UK, widening the gap from seven percentage points below the national average to ten points lower by 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key to this progress are <strong>Scottish Government policies<\/strong>, including the Scottish Child Payment, a benefit introduced in 2021 to support low-income families, and the decision to scrap the two-child limit on benefits for Scottish <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/child-benefit-increase-struggling-families\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"100935\">families<strong> <\/strong><\/a><strong>from 2026<\/strong>. These measures directly increase <strong>household income <\/strong>for struggling families, helping reduce the proportion of children living in poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>JRF analysis suggests that if the rest of the UK followed Scotland\u2019s example, around <strong>800,000<\/strong> fewer children would face hardship. However, no English region is forecast to see a drop in rates between <strong>2024 and 2029<\/strong>, with five regions expected to see increases. Campaigners argue that Scotland\u2019s policies provide a model for tackling the issue across the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Calls for Coordinated UK-Wide Action on Poverty<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>While Scotland\u2019s progress is notable, child poverty remains a significant issue, with one in five Scottish children still expected to live in poverty by 2029. <strong>Fiona Steel<\/strong>, national director at Action for Children Scotland, <strong>acknowledged Scotland\u2019s progress<\/strong> but warned that current measures are not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThrough the Scottish Child Payment and plans to mitigate the two-child cap limit, Action for Children acknowledges the Scottish Government has taken <strong>big steps<\/strong> into the journey to end child poverty. However, we now need a giant leap, especially if Scotland is to meet its own legal child <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/winter-fuel-payment-reforms-poverty-crisis\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"101066\">poverty <\/a>targets.\u201d Steel said. She called for a <strong>coordinated effort<\/strong> between the UK, Scottish, and local governments, arguing that families should benefit from a \u2018triple lock\u2019 of support rather than facing disjointed policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The UK Government, meanwhile, has pointed to its own initiatives aimed at tackling poverty through <strong>economic growth<\/strong>, increases in the <strong>minimum wage<\/strong>, and reforms to Universal Credit. Labour\u2019s Kirsty McNeill, a minister in the Scotland Office, stated that the government\u2019s Child Poverty Task Force would seek \u201c<strong>lasting reductions to child poverty<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, JRF\u2019s findings suggest economic growth alone will not be sufficient. Their analysis warns that if economic gains disproportionately benefit higher-income <a href=\"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/300-eligible-households-uk-government-fund\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"102196\">households<\/a>, child poverty rates <strong>could continue to rise<\/strong>. Campaigners continue to press for targeted policies to ensure children across the UK are lifted out of poverty, rather than relying on broader economic measures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As child poverty rates rise across the UK, Scotland\u2019s targeted welfare policies are driving a notable decline. New research highlights the growing gap, with measures like the Scottish Child Payment making a tangible impact. Meanwhile, other regions face stagnation or worsening conditions, as campaigners push for urgent action to address the crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":103089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103087"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":103093,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103087\/revisions\/103093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}