Scotland faces wide miss on child-poverty targets, Joseph Rowntree Foundation says

Scotland is on course to miss its legally binding child-poverty targets by a wide margin, according to a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The charity said one in five children was living in poverty and called for a more ambitious, properly funded plan. It urged ministers to reform local government, public services and the tax system to make stronger progress.

The foundation’s report found that the proportion of children in relative poverty averaged 21% between 2022 and 2025. The legal target is to reduce the figure below 10% by 2030. Relative poverty is defined as household disposable income below 60% of the UK median after housing costs, adjusted for household size and composition.

Overall, the report estimated that 940,000 people in Scotland, or 17% of the population, were in relative poverty. It said poverty was highest among children in ethnic minority families, at 47%, while 11% of the population was in deep poverty and 7% in very deep poverty. The Scottish government said its policies had kept 100,000 children out of poverty this year.

Social Justice and Housing Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish Child Payment was supporting more than 320,000 children and that ministers were investing in breakfast clubs, transport and skills. The government said around £3.5bn would be committed in 2026-27 to policies addressing poverty and the cost of living. The JRF nevertheless said existing plans would not deliver the necessary scale of change.

The charity recommended flexible, well-paid jobs, affordable childcare, adequate social security and more social housing. It also criticised stretched council finances and the council-tax system, saying local authorities needed stronger funding and accountability to help reduce poverty.