By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS
The above prediction, from Achieving the 2030 Child Poverty Target published today by the IPPR Scotland, suggests that with the Scottish Child Payment and with compensation for the UK Universal Benefit, two child limit, Scotland could hit its fist child poverty target of 18%.
The authors however, make clear that this might be sabotaged by wider UK Government economic policies including benefit cuts, increasing poverty across the UK.
Why, need I remind you, does this matter to all of us? Here’s why:
From Turning the tide What it will take to reduce child poverty in the UK published by the Resolution Foundation, two days ago, at: https://www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications/, the above revealing graph and:
In 2017, the Scottish Government enshrined ambitious child poverty reduction targets into law. These targets require Scottish ministers to reduce relative child poverty in Scotland to below 10 per cent and absolute child poverty to below 5 per cent by 2030 (both measured after housing costs).50 Such ambition has led to Scotland enacting measures that directly boost the incomes of parents claiming means-tested benefits: the Scottish Child Payment, currently worth £1,400 per child per year; Best Start Grants (currently worth a total of £2,450 for the first child and £1,000 for subsequent children in three grants from pregnancy up to the start of school) and Best Start Foods (currently £5.30 per week during pregnancy and when a child is aged 1-3 and £10.60 per week when a child is under one), which help with the costs of pregnancy and looking after young children; and Free School Meals (FSMs), which were extended to all children in primary 4 and 5 in April 2022.
The Scottish Government has also used its devolved social security powers to pursue a different social security agenda to the UK as a whole, introducing mitigations for national policies that break the link between a family’s circumstances and their benefit entitlement, such as the benefit cap and the removal of the spare room subsidy (commonly referred to as the ‘bedroom tax’). And in December 2024, the Scottish Government announced its intention to “effectively scrap” the two-child limit in 2026 by introducing automatic mitigation payments to affected families.51 This commitment will require cooperation from the Department for Work and Pensions on data sharing, as well as new UK legislation to ensure that mitigation payments are not treated as income by the benefit system nor subject to the benefit cap.52 But it is difficult to envision the UK government completely blocking such an ambition; we therefore assume it will happen and include it in the projections presented in this report.
‘These income-boosting measures are projected to drive a (further) wedge between Scottish and English child poverty rates.‘
From the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, on 29th January 2025:
Child poverty rates in Scotland (24%) remain much lower than those in England (30%) and Wales (29%) and are similar (if slightly higher) than in Northern Ireland (23%). This is likely to be due, at least in part, to the Scottish Child Payment. This highlights the effect benefits can have in reducing poverty.
https://www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2025-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk
How are the ‘Scottish’ media covering these reports? None seem to have covered the Resolution Foundation two days ago and only the Herald reported on the JRF report last month.
BBC Scotland? Nothing on these two recent reports. Just this last March:
Why are these initiatives in the interest of all of us? Please read this:
How does Scotland compare with the EU? The EU uses a different measure so direct comparison is not possible:
Based on the above, Scotland might (at 25%) be mid-table while England (at 30%) would be fourth highest, after Bulgaria.
https://www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2025-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper [98!] and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/
The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Bro
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Not directly to do with poverty (though poverty is mentioned), following article about health care deaths in English NHS. I wonder how maternity deaths in England compare to Scotland rather than Sweden (last paragraph)?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/24/nhs-reform-wes-streeting-labour-jeremy-hunt
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Cutting child poverty pays for itself. Other essential services benefit. Less illness, better school access. Stronger households. More equality and cohesion. A better society. More prosperity and lower unemployment. Less need for charity. Happier population. Better wellbeing.
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The funds Westminster takes from Scotland could akeviate poverty. The UK the most unequal place in the world. By comparison with contemporaries. Tax evasion, illegal wars, financial fraud. Goes on relentless.
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