Best Start, Bright Futures - tackling child poverty: progress report 2023 to 2024

Section 3 - At a glance summaries

Introduction

The following section provides a series of ‘at a glance’ tables providing a summary overview of activity in 2023-24 and other key information.

The first table provides an overview of the status of each action reported on this year and how each action is expected to tackle child poverty.

Table two sets out a short progress update for actions which have not been reported against in each of the nine thematic areas in the first section of this report.

Table three sets out what has been spent from the Tackling Child Poverty Fund across 2022-23 and 2023-24.

Table four sets out an estimate of our investment directed at low income households in 2023-24 and spend to support children in poverty.

Table 5 outlines the requirements of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, and how we have addressed each within this report.

The final table sets out the comments and recommendations from the Poverty and Inequality Commission and our responses.

Overview of progress

The following table provides an at a glance update on the status of all actions in Best Start, Bright Futures as of 31 March 2024. The table also summarises how each action will help us to tackle child poverty.

Of the 108 actions reported on this year, 60 are complete or delivering at scale, 34 are in progress and nine are in the early stages of development. Work on one of the actions has been paused and four actions have been aligned with other commitments and will be delivered through them.

Table 1 – Summary of action status

Status key:

DEL Being delivered at scale / completed

IP In progress

ES Early stages of development

PA Paused

AL Aligned with other action

Expected outcome key:

EMP Increasing income from employment – relevant to all four targets

HC Reducing housing costs – relevant to all four targets

OC Reducing other costs of living – relevant to the low income and material deprivation target

SS Increasing income from social security and benefits in kind – relevant to all four targets

LC Improving children’s life chances in ways that are not about increasing current income or reducing costs of living –potentially relevant to future child poverty levels, when these children become parents themselves

Action	Expected outcome	Status
Commence work in local pathfinder areas	LC, EMP, SS, OC, HC	DEL
Act on findings of Rural and Islands Child Poverty Research	LC, EMP, SS, OC, HC	DEL
Social Innovation Partnership – Flourishing Lives	LC, EMP, SS, OC, HC	IP
Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund [NEW]	LC, EMP, SS, OC, HC	DEL
Increase scale of employment support	EMP	IP
Test and Learn Pilot for lone parents	EMP, LC, SS, OC, HC	DEL
Challenge Fund	EMP	AL
Parental Transition Fund	EMP	AL
Increasing awareness and uptake of employment support	EMP	IP
Lifetime Skills Offer	EMP	AL
Adult upskilling and reskilling offer	EMP	AL
Reform of post-school education [NEW]	EMP, LC	ES
Publish an Adult Learning Strategy for Scotland	EMP	DEL
NHS Demonstrator Project and apprenticeship opportunities	EMP	DEL
NHS anchors [NEW]	EMP	IP
Just Transition Fund	LC, OC	IP
Strategic plan for childcare	EMP, OC	DEL
Further develop funded early learning childcare for children aged one and two	EMP, OC	ES
Maximise uptake of existing funded early learning childcare for eligible two year olds	EMP, OC	IP
Build a system of school age childcare	EMP, OC	ES
Summer 2022 holiday programme	EMP, OC	DEL
Eligibility review for funded childcare	EMP, OC	DEL
Deliver concessionary fares for eligible groups	EMP, OC, LC	DEL
Fair Fares Review	EMP, OC, LC	DEL
Next generation of digital travel systems	EMP, OC, LC	IP
Community Bus Fund	EMP, OC, LC	DEL
Review of Demand Responsive Transport	EMP, OC, LC	DEL
Connecting Scotland	EMP, HC, OC, SS, LC	IP
Shared vision for tackling child poverty in partnership with business and employers	EMP	ES
Refreshed Fair Work Action Plan	EMP	DEL
Workplace Equality Fund	EMP	DEL
Women Returners Programme	EMP	DEL
Public sector grant recipients to pay at least the real living Wage to all employees	EMP	DEL
Community Wealth Building	EMP	IP
£12 per hour pay commitment for childcare workers [NEW]	EMP	IP
Build child poverty into major Scottish Government events	LC	IP
Public Sector Pay Policy	EMP	DEL
Supported Business	EMP	DEL
Expand the number of employers paying at least the real Living Wage and offering Living Hours	EMP	DEL
Whole Family Wellbeing Funding	EMP, OC, LC, SS, HC	IP
Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill	LC	IP
Implement Bairns’ Hoose Model	LC	IP
CashBack for Communities	LC	DEL
Strengthen immediate protections for the victims of abuse	LC	IP
Prison Visitor Centres	LC, HC	DEL
Getting it Right For Everyone (GIRFE)	LC	ES
Family focused services for people with alcohol and drug problems	LC	IP
Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults	LC, OC, EMP	DEL
Community mental health resilience and social prescribing	LC	IP
Inclusion Health Action in General Practice	LC	DEL
Fairer Funding Programme	LC	ES
Third Sector Fund	LC, OC, HC, SS	DEL
STV Children's Appeal	EMP, HC, OC, SS, LC	DEL
Family Fund	LC, OC, SS	DEL
Equality and Human Rights Fund	LC	DEL
Place Based Investment Programme	EMP	DEL
Empowering Communities Programme	EMP	DEL
Increase 8 social security payments by 6%	SS	DEL
Scottish Child Payment	SS	DEL
Bridging Payments	SS	DEL
Remove income thresholds from Best Start Foods	SS	DEL
Explore systems of automated payment for Social Security benefits	SS	IP
Carer Support Payment	SS	IP
Extra payment for carer’s of more than one disabled person	SS	ES
Scotland’s Child Disability Payment case transfer	SS	DEL
Adult Disability Payment (ADP)	SS	DEL
Winter Heating Payment	SS	DEL
National guidance on school uniforms	HC	IP
Further expand Free School Meal provision	HC, SS	IP
Fund to assist in removing the impact of school meal debt on families [NEW]	HC, SS	IP
Publish Scottish guidance for Discretionary Housing Payment	HC	DEL
Independent review of the Scottish Welfare Fund	SS	DEL
Mitigate the Benefit Cap as fully as possible	SS	DEL
£150 Cost of Living Payment	SS	DEL
Benefit take-up strategy	SS	DEL
Social Security Advocacy Service	SS	DEL
Expand the Family Nurse Partnership	LC, HC, OC	IP
Enhance financial advice from Health Visitors	LC, HC, OC	IP
Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships	LC, HC, OC	DEL
Free debt advice	SS, OC, HC	DEL
Strategic approach to communications – income maximisation	LC, HC, OC, SS, EMP	DEL
Plan for ending the need for food banks	SS	DEL
Affordable Housing Supply Programme	HC, LC	IP
Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan	HC	DEL
Private rented housing sector reforms	HC	IP
Gypsy/Traveller accommodation	HC	IP
Double investment in the Home Energy Scotland Loans and Grants scheme in 2022-23	HC	DEL
Fuel Insecurity Fund	HC, SS	DEL
Successor to Warmer Homes Scotland	HC	DEL
Ending Homelessness Together	HC, LC	IP
Scale up Housing First	HC, LC	IP
Play Park renewal	LC	IP
Refreshed GIRFEC resources	LC	DEL
The Promise Partnership Fund	LC	DEL
Scottish Attainment Challenge	EMP, LC	DEL
Removal of charges for core curriculum subjects	OC, LC	IP
Improve digital access for school age children	LC, SS	ES
Scottish Mentoring and Leadership Programme	EMP, LC	DEL
Consider models to provide free bikes for children whose parent/guardian cannot afford them	OC, LC	DEL
Free Bikes Partnership Fund [NEW]	OC, LC	DEL
Investment in sport, active living, and Active Schools programmes	LC	IP
Youth Work Strategy	EMP, LC	PA
School Leavers’ Toolkit	LC	DEL
Tackling the digital divide in further and higher education	EMP, LC	DEL
Enhance the total student support package	EMP, LC	IP
Young Person’s Guarantee	EMP , LC	DEL
Care Leaver Payment (Care Experience Grant)	SS	IP
Legislate to exempt under 22s from Council Tax	HC, LC	ES

Updates on other actions

The following table provides summary updates on actions within Best Start, Bright Futures which are not included within the first section of this report. As set out within the Plan, a balanced approach is needed to tackle child poverty effectively, and the following actions remain central to our overall child poverty strategy.

Table 2 – Progress on other actions

Action

Just Transition Fund

Activity

Since 2022, £75 million has been committed through the Just Transition Fund, with almost £17 million spent in 2023-24, including £1.5 million through Just Transition Participatory Budgeting to support 53 projects benefitting local communities across the North-East region. Over £3.4 million in funding was also invested in 2023-24 in enhancing skills and increasing access to job opportunities through projects such as the pilot energy skills project which has provided fully funded courses to over 650 learners. Support also continued for the Just Transition Communities Project, which focused on engaging the most vulnerable and deprived communities and least heard groups, including children, young people and new Scots, in discussions on what a just transition looks like for them.

Action

Supported business

Activity

Following a detailed stakeholder consultation process, the Requirements Reserved for Supported Businesses Dynamic Purchasing System commenced in September 2023. This will run for a two-year period and provides Scottish public bodies with a clear path to purchase of goods and services from supported businesses and in doing so, support the integration of disabled and disadvantaged people into the mainstream workforce.

Action

Connecting Scotland

Activity

Connecting Scotland resumed delivery in August 2023 with two new projects, focused on delivering kit and connectivity to device library and social housing organisations. £204,000 in grant funding was awarded to a diverse range of projects, helping to expand their capacity through the provision of additional kit and connectivity, and supporting them in reaching out to more digitally excluded people across Scotland. Projects will begin to report back in July 2024 with findings to be published following evaluation. Linked to this, work has begun on a Digital Inclusion Alliance which will bring together organisations across the Digital Inclusion space to share learning and join up work to support digitally excluded people across Scotland. Work has also been undertaken on research for a Minimum Digital Living Standards that would ensure all people in Scotland have the right to devices, skills and capabilities that allow them to thrive in a digital society.

Action

Build child poverty into major Scottish Government events

Activity

Informed by views and evidence gathered through public consultation in 2023, VisitScotland has been drafting a refreshed National Events Strategy for Scotland, with support from Scottish Government, other partners across the event sector, Trade Unions, Local Authorities and the wider public sector. Once launched, the refreshed Events Strategy 2024-2035 will be for the whole sector, covering sporting, cultural and business events of all sizes, aligning our events to policy priorities.

Action

Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill

Activity

The Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill was passed by Parliament in June 2023 and received Royal Assent in August 2023. It is intended that the provisions within the Act will be commenced over the coming year, in discussion with a range of stakeholders to consider workforce and operational readiness.

Action

Barnahaus model

Activity

We are progressing with the phased implementation of the Bairns’ Hoose model. The first phase was launched in October 2023 with the announcement of six Pathfinder and four Affiliate partnerships. We

invested £3.6 million in 2023-24 to support this phase of development with approximately £6 million of further investment expected in 2024-25 to enable Pathfinder partnerships to test and show how the Bairns’ Hoose Standards work in practice in different contexts. This investment will enable the design of a national model and help identify the support required to achieve this. We are continuing to work collaboratively with Pathfinders and Affiliates as we capture learning from a range of geographical and operating contexts.

Action

CashBack for Communities

Activity

Phase Six of the CashBack for Communities Programme commenced on 1 April 2023 and runs to 31 March 2026, with up to £20 million committed to this Phase. The programme will deliver a range of trauma-informed and person-centred services and activities for young people between the ages of 10-25. Services will support young people most at risk of being involved in antisocial behaviour offending or reoffending towards or into positive destinations. They will also support people, families and communities most affected by crime, provide person-centred support for young people, parents and families impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences and trauma, and support young people to improve their health, mental health, and wellbeing. A total of 29 organisations are funded in this phase, with delivery in all 32 Local Authorities.

Action

Strengthen immediate protections for the victims of abuse

Activity

In collaboration with operational justice agencies, we have continued to consider how we could implement Part 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 and the practical aspects of this legislation.

Action

Prison Visitor Centres

Activity

In 2023-24 funding of over £800,000 supported 12 Prison Visitor Centres (PVC) to deliver tailored support for families impacted by imprisonment across Scotland. Last year also saw the creation of two new Prison Visitor Services at HMP Greenock and HMP Dumfries which had previously not benefited from such provision. These centres are working to improve the experience of people visiting a family member in prison and seek to maintain family ties and parental bonds. Work is ongoing to explore the introduction of a prison visitor support model at HMP Inverness until a full PVC can be introduced at the new facility at HMP Highland.

Action

Third Sector Fund 

Activity

In April 2023, the Children, Young People, Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Third Sector Fund (CYPFEI & ALEC) was continued, providing £29 million in core funding over two financial years to 115 organisations to deliver support that tackles inequalities, child and family poverty, improves learning and builds skills. The Scottish Government launched the Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learners (CYPFAL) Third Sector Fund, in July 2023, providing £6 million in core funding over two financial years to 22 third sector organisations supporting children, families, young people and adult learners. The most recent CYPFEI & ALEC and CYPFAL report, spanning October 2022-September 2023, showed that just over one million people across Scotland were directly supported as a result of this funding.

Action

STV Children's Appeal

Activity

We have continued our support of the STV Children’s Appeal by match funding public donations up to £1 million. This has assisted the Appeal in supporting third sector and grassroot organisations in all 32 Local Authority areas in Scotland, with more than 27,000 children and young people reached across 2023. Almost £500,000 in cost of living grants were issued to support families with immediate material needs, with almost 100 organisations receiving funding to allow them to support families.

Action

Family Fund

Activity

We provided £2.8 million in grant funding to Family Fund in 2023-24 to provide small grants for essential items to families on a low income who are raising disabled or seriously ill children, aged 0-17. Across 2023-24, the Fund supported over 6,000 families to access almost 8,000 grant items which they would not have otherwise been able to afford. Items have included family breaks, clothes, beds and other furniture, tablets and sensory equipment or specialist toys.

Action

Equality and Human Rights Fund

Activity

In 2023-24, the Equality and Human Rights fund distributed over £8.2 million to groups to develop, embed and mainstream equality and human rights within policy and practice in Scotland. Between April and September 2023, this funding supported Age Scotland to undertake 294 benefit checks and resulted in £801,591 in client financial gain.

Action

Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP)

Activity

We have delivered £53 million in 2023-24 through our regeneration capital programmes including the PBIP, with funding of £25 million to Regeneration Capital Grant Fund (RCGF) projects, £23 million through direct allocation to each Local Authority and £5 million to Clyde Gateway Urban Regeneration Company.

This year’s RCGF supported 35 multiyear projects. Each of the projects were awarded on the basis of the outcomes they will deliver for communities to support improved social, physical, environmental and economic outcomes. The PBIP allocated direct to Local Authorities has been used across a wide range of projects in line with the fund criteria to improve town centres, support 20 minutes neighbourhoods, community led regeneration and contribute to net zero.

Action

Empowering Communities Programme

Activity

We have continued to deliver our Empowering Communities Programme, including key funding delivered through the Investing in Communities Fund supporting 105 community organisations in deprived, disadvantaged and fragile rural communities with approximately £9 million in funding to address poverty and disadvantage. 2023-24 was the first of a three year funding cycle, with 80 of the 105 supported organisations directly targeting priority groups.

Action

Exemption of under 22’s from Council Tax

Activity

We have continued to explore proposals to exempt under 22’s from Council Tax. We remain committed to provide space for joint dialogue on issues relating to council tax, and maintaining engagement with our partners, through our Joint Working Group on Council Tax Reform.

Action

National guidance on school uniforms

Activity

Guidance on school clothing and uniform has been developed and is expected to publish in spring 2024. This will support schools and education authorities in their considerations about their clothing and uniform policies. The guidance has a clear focus on reducing costs for families, supporting and encouraging sustainable approaches and ensuring that uniform and clothing policies support the comfort and wellbeing of all pupils.

Action

Play Park renewal

Activity

In 2023-24, £10 million was provided to Local Authorities to support the renewal of play parks, bringing the total capital funding to £20 million since 2021-22. We have also committed capital funding of £15 million for 2024-25 to continue our work with Local Authority partners to ensure that children have access to high quality play parks. Between 2021-22 and 2022-23 520 play parks have been renewed, with data on the number renewed in 2023-24 due later this year.

Action

Refreshed GIRFEC resources

Activity

We have published a practice exemplar specifically focused on how the effective implementation of GIRFEC can support tackling child poverty. This resource forms part of a suite of practice exemplars co-created with professional advisers, with further exemplars across a range of key themes including pre-birth (from hospital to home) and education due for publication later in 2024.

Action

Scottish Attainment Challenge

Activity

In 2023-24 we continued to provide substantial investment in the Scottish Attainment Challenge Programme. This included over £130 million in Pupil Equity Funding, £43 million in Strategic Equity Funding and around £10.5 million in Care Experienced Children and Young People Funding. We also continued to support the Scottish Attainment Challenge National Programmes, providing around £500,000 in total to Child Poverty Action Group, YouthLink Scotland, Young Scot and CELCIS.

ACEL Data published in December 2024 showed record levels of literacy and numeracy attainment at primary school level, and improvements in secondary. It also showed a record low attainment gap between the proportion of primary pupils from the most and least deprived areas achieving expected levels in literacy, and reductions in secondary level.

Action

Removal of charges for core curriculum subjects

Activity

The Scottish Government provided a total of £8 million to Local Authorities and grant aided schools to cover the removal of core curriculum charges for the 2023-24 financial year, with a further £8 million committed in the 2024-25 budget. In collaboration with COSLA, work continued across this reporting year to draft guidance to provide further clarity for schools and Local Authorities.

Action

Improve digital access for school age children

Activity

We are committed to improving digital access for learners and have commenced development work on a new digital strategy for education in partnership with COSLA. This strategy will support Local Authorities deployment and use of technology in schools.

Action

Investment in sport, active living, and Active Schools programmes

Activity

We are working with sportscotland to phase out charging for Active Schools. sportscotland continues to work with local partners to address the small number of cases where charging remains, taking a managed approach to avoid any unintended negative impact on the level of sport and physical activity provision in those communities.

Action

Youth Work Strategy

Activity

As part of the independent review of Community Learning and Development in Scotland, the publication of a new Youth Work Strategy has been paused. Recommendations from the review will be provided by June 2024.

Action

School Leavers’ Toolkit

Activity

The School Leavers Toolkit, hosted on My World of Work, has been regularly reviewed and updated to ensure leavers have the latest guidance and information.

Action

Tackling the digital divide in further and higher education

Activity

We invested £2.9 million in colleges, £1.6 million in universities and £500,000 in community learning and development in 2023-24, to support further and higher education providers to purchase digital equipment and provide access to Wi-Fi to enable students who, owing to low incomes, cannot otherwise access online learning. We expect to receive reporting on the number of devices purchased by the end of this academic year.

Action

Enhance the total student support package

Activity

In 2023-24 we delivered a £900 uplift in the total package of student support offered to undergraduate students, the second increase following a £350 uplift in the previous financial year. From 2024-25, we will increase the financial support available by a further £2,400, meaning that student support will be equivalent to the student Living Wage, and the maximum support on offer will increase from £9,000 to £11,400.

Investment through the Tackling Child Poverty Fund

Best Start, Bright Futures is underpinned by a £50 million Tackling Child Poverty Fund (TCP Fund) over the life of the plan, focused on supporting innovation and driving forward the cross-cutting action needed at both a national and local level to effectively break the cycle of child poverty in Scotland.

The following table sets out spend from the Fund to date, including updated spend figures for 2022-23 where these are available. Given the close alignment of the work of the Social Innovation Partnership (SIP) with Pathfinders, and the need to ensure that both actions continue at scale across 2022-26, investment in the SIP will be met from the TCP Fund across the life of the Plan.

Across 2024-25, the TCP Fund will continue to support action focused on testing and scaling innovative action to tackle child poverty, and supporting wider activity focused at supporting local action and driving forward the action set out in Best Start, Bright Futures.

The table below outlines recorded and provisional levels of investment, correct at the point of publication, all totals expressed are £0.000m:

Table 3 – Summary of Tackling Child Poverty Fund investment

Programme	Year		Total
	2022-23	2023-24
Doubling the Winter 2022 Scottish Child Payment Bridging Payment	19.000	-	19.000
Emergency food insecurity funding to respond to the cost of living crisis	1.775	-	1.775
Social Innovation Partnership	2.600	2.200	4.800
Pathfinders, including evaluation	0.699	0.693	1.392
Low income family targeted strategic communications	0.653*	0.442	1.095
Enhancing local tackling child poverty action	0.107*	0.263	0.370
Programme Delivery Costs	1.532*	0.950	2.482
Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund	-	0.220	0.220
Total	26.366	4.758	31.124

* Figures revised with latest estimates of spend

Investment to support children in poverty

In the 2023-24 financial year, it is estimated that nearly £2.9 billion was invested across a range of programmes targeted at low income households, as set out in the tables below. Of this, we estimate that almost £1.4 billion benefited children.

Compared to 2022-23 estimates, this represents a decrease of £158 million in spend targeted to low income households, and an increase of nearly £126 million in spend which benefited children. While year on year spend targeted to low income households reduced, spend in 2022-23 included £274 million for a one-off cost of living payment of £150 to households which was not repeated in 2023-24. Isolating investment on this measure, comparative spend targeted to low income households increased by almost £116 million in 2023-24.

These figures are estimates. They comprise a mixture of outturn, budgeted, and forecasted figures, depending on what was available at the time. Some of the figures are published, whereas others were sourced internally. Furthermore, although we have attempted to stay consistent with the figures included in the equivalent table in previous progress reports, inconsistencies could remain, including as a result of methodological improvements which provide more accurate estimates. For policies targeted at all people on a low income, we have given consideration to any additional evidence which would enable us to produce a better estimate and have included footnotes to indicate the methodology used. In the absence of this information, we have continued to use the latest statistics on the proportion of people in poverty who are children as in previous years to derive an estimated spend on children in poverty. We have excluded administration costs where possible.

As in previous years, these estimates do not include spend on universal services from which children in poverty will also benefit, including services focused specifically on children such as funded Early Learning and Childcare and universal Free School Meal provision in primary schools, or wider support including free prescriptions, healthcare or free tuition. Disability benefits have also been excluded from the calculations, these are non-means tested and their purpose is to provide support to help with the additional costs associated with having a disability or long-term health condition. Wider investments such as these are important aspects of our overall strategy to reducing child poverty.

As an improvement to the estimates, we have switched to using a three-year average (albeit excluding 2020-21 due to an unrepresentative sample) for the proportion of people in poverty who are children, accounting for 22% in 2020-23. This figure will be more stable than the single-year figures previously used and is in line with the approach taken in the official child poverty statistics.

Alongside the 2024-25 Scottish Budget, we provided an analysis of the impact of tax and social security measures included in the Budget on households of different income levels and characteristics. We are exploring extending this analysis to cover public services. We are also evaluating key policies - like No One Left Behind, funded childcare and our place based collaborations - to ensure actions are having the desired impact on child poverty and represent value for money.

Table 4.1 - Estimate of spend targeted to low income households with children in 2023-24

Policy	Low income households (£m)	Children in low income households (£m)
Attainment Scotland Fund[6]	186.51	186.51
Benefit Cap Mitigation[7]	3.50	3.47
Best Start Foods	14.00	14.00
Best Start Grant	21.80	21.80
Education Maintenance Allowance	18.60	18.60
Family Fund	2.83	2.83
Family Nurse Partnerships	12.83	12.83
Holiday Programmes	4.00	4.00
Parental Employability Support Fund	32.65	32.65
Promise Partnership Fund	4.00	4.00
School Clothing Grant	13.00	13.00
School Meal alternate holiday provision	21.75	21.75
School Meals, including Free School Meals	169.80	169.80
Scottish Child Payment	426.80	426.80
STV Children's Appeal	1.00	1.00
Whole Family Wellbeing Funding[8]	8.78	8.78
Wraparound (School Age Childcare)	12.40	12.40
Total	954.24	954.21

Table 4.2 - Estimate of spend targeted to low income households, not necessarily with children in 2023-24

Policy	Low income households (£m)	Children in low income households (£m)
Advice in an Accessible Setting[9]	2.53	0.61
Advice Services (Income max/financial advice)[10]	4.86	2.30
Affordable Homes	710.94	156.41
Carer's Allowance	359.10	79.00
Carer's Allowance Supplement	47.50	10.45
Connecting Scotland	0.32	0.07
Council Tax Reduction - revenue foregone	351.00	77.22
Discretionary Housing Payments (see also benefit cap mitigation)[11]	81.41	11.57
Fair Start Scotland	21.50	4.73
Fuel Insecurity Fund	30.00	6.60
Fuel Poverty / Energy Efficiency[12]	125.50	27.61
Funeral Support Payment	12.90	2.84
Island Cost Crisis Emergency Fund	1.00	0.22
No One Left Behind employability support (other groups)	29.21	6.43
Job Start Payment	0.35	0.08
Regeneration Strategy[13]	74.93	16.49
Scottish Welfare Fund[14]	35.50	15.98
Social Innovation Partnership[15]	2.20	1.75
Tackling Food Insecurity	1.05	0.23
UC Scottish Choices	0.12	0.03
Winter Heating Payment	22.10	4.86
Total	1,914.02	425.46

Table 4.3 - Estimate of total spend to support children in poverty in 2023-24

Targeting approach	Low income households (£m)	Children in low income households (£m)
Low income households with children	954.24	954.21
Low income households, not necessarily with children	1,914.02	425.26
Cumulative total	2,868.26	1,379.67

Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 Requirements

Section 10 of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 sets out a range of requirements around progress reports. Table 5 explains how we have met those requirements, with directions to the relevant sections or specific pages within this report.

This table also details how we have responded to each of the Poverty and Inequality Commission’s four recommendations and comments relating to the child poverty targets, included within their 2023-24 scrutiny report.

Table 5: Summary of Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 requirements

Requirement

The Scottish Ministers must, before the end of the period of 3 months beginning with the last day of each reporting year, prepare a report (a “progress report”) on the progress made during the year—

• towards meeting the child poverty targets, and
• in implementing the relevant delivery plan.

Scottish Government response

This is the sixth progress report due under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017.

Section 2 outlines our approach to assessing progress and presents the most recent data on the four targets. This data relates to the period 2022-23. Data for 2023-24 is expected to be available in March 2025.

Progress in implementing the delivery plan (2022-26) is set out in section 1. This relates to activity across 2023-24.

Requirement

A progress report must in particular describe the measures taken by the Scottish Ministers in accordance with that delivery plan.

Scottish Government response

Section 1 sets out key progress in implementing Best Start, Bright Futures, aligned with thematic areas of focus. Brief updates on actions not otherwise reported can be found in Section 3, table 2.

Requirement

A progress report must in particular describe the effect of those measures on progress towards meeting the child poverty targets.

Scottish Government response

Each thematic area of focus in Section 1 includes a summary of the impact of actions based on the latest evidence available.

Economic modelling was published alongside Best Start, Bright Futures setting out anticipated impacts on the targets. An updated cumulative impact assessment was published on 28 February 2024.

Requirement

A progress report must in particular describe the effect of those measures on reducing the number of children living in single-parent households against each of the four targets.

Scottish Government response

Section 2 presents the most recent child poverty statistics for the six priority families identified in Best Start, Bright Futures – including children living in single parent households.

Section 1 sets out the impact of policies for lone parent families where available.

Further detail on the impacts of policies on single parent households can be found in Annex 5: summary impact of policies, and the impact assessments published alongside Best Start, Bright Futures.

Requirement

A progress report must in particular describe the effect of those measures on children living in households whose income is adversely affected, or whose expenditure is increased, because a member of the household has one or more protected characteristics.

Scottish Government response

Section 2 presents the most recent child poverty statistics for the six priority families identified in Best Start, Bright Futures – including children living in families that include a disabled adult or child, minority ethnic families, families with a child under one year old, families with three or more children, lone parent families and families where the mother is under age 25.

Section 1 sets out the impact of policies for low income families. The impacts for family types at greatest risk of poverty are set out where available.

Requirement

If, in preparing a progress report, Scottish Ministers consider that the measures taken in accordance with the relevant delivery plan have not delivered sufficient progress towards meeting the child poverty targets, the progress report must describe how the Scottish Ministers propose to ensure sufficient progress is delivered in the future.

Scottish Government response

This report recognises that it is not possible to deliver all actions as set out in Best Start, Bright Futures at the scale originally envisaged. The challenging economic conditions facing the Scottish Government have required tough decisions to be made, impacting on the pace and scale of delivery of actions.

We recognise that we must continue to push forward with our implementation of Best Start, Bright Futures whilst also looking forward to the final Delivery Plan, and working to achieve the flightpath to the 2030 targets. We remain committed to meeting our statutory child poverty targets, and will continue to do everything within the scope of our powers and budget to deliver the change needed across the lifespan of the current and final Delivery Plan.

Requirement

In preparing a progress report, the Scottish Ministers must consult the Poverty and Inequality Commission on;

• the progress made during the reporting year towards meeting the child poverty targets,
• whether it appears to the Commission that such progress is sufficient to meet the child poverty targets,
• what further progress the Commission considers is required to meet the child poverty targets.

And, include any comments or recommendations made by the Commission on the matters mentioned above.

Scottish Government response

The Poverty and Inequality Commission shared their advice with the Scottish Government in May 2024.

The advice received is published in full on the Poverty and Inequality Commission’s website.

A summary of key points is set out in Table 6 below, alongside our response.

This section has no associated Explanatory Notes

Table 6: Responding to the recommendations of the Poverty and Inequality Commission:

Poverty and Inequality Commission comment / recommendation

In relation to the progress made during the reporting year towards meeting the child poverty targets, the report of the Commission notes:

“Limited progress has been made towards meeting the child poverty targets over the last year. The most substantial progress can be seen in raising income from social security, with increased take-up of the five family payments, including the Scottish Child Payment. This is very welcome and shows what can be achieved when there is commitment to, and funding for, significant change, and action is clear and focused. Progress in other areas is slow or not evident at all, and we are seeing the impact of budget cuts, or the failure to invest sufficient additional funding, in some of the key commitments in Best Start, Bright Futures, including in the areas of employability, childcare and affordable housing.

This lack of progress is underlined by the latest child poverty statistics for 2022-2023, showing that child poverty levels in Scotland were broadly the same as they were five years previously, when the first tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan was published.”

Scottish Government response

Although child poverty levels have remained broadly stable in recent years, it is important to see this in the context of the wider economic and social challenges across this period – including recovery from Covid-19, the ongoing cost of living crisis, and impact of sustained high inflation. It is also important to note that data does not yet fully account for the expansion and increase in value of the Scottish Child Payment, which is estimated to keep 60,000 children out of relative poverty in 2024-25. This payment is unique to Scotland and is expected to further widen the divergence in child poverty levels between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

In relation to progress in implementing Best Start, Bright Futures, this report recognises the difficult choices which the Scottish Government has had to make due to the challenging economic conditions faced, and the impact that these have had on progression of our actions. As a result, in some instances it has not yet been possible to fully implement policies or progress these as envisioned. In these instances, we have worked to identify ways to mitigate these challenges. Steps taken to do so are outlined in section 1 of the report.

Poverty and Inequality Commission comment / recommendation

In relation to whether it appears to the Commission that such progress is sufficient to meet the child poverty targets, the report of the Commission notes:

“While the Scottish Government’s modelling suggests that its policies may have prevented an increase in the number of children in poverty, compared to a scenario where the Scottish Government took no action, the latest statistics demonstrate how far Scotland is from meeting its child poverty targets.

The deadline for the interim child poverty targets to be met was 2023-24. The statistics which tell us whether or not this has happened will not be available until 2025, but the activity that has already taken place in the last year will determine whether or not they have been met. If the interim targets were to be met, then it is clear that would be largely due to the Scottish Child Payment. The Payment is undoubtedly making a difference to individual families, but we are not seeing this reflected in the statistics so far. The full roll out of the Scottish Child Payment will not be captured by the latest data for 2022-23, but we would hope to have seen some impact already. Reaching the interim relative poverty target would now require an unprecedented eight percentage point reduction in a single year. Such a fall, while not impossible, appears improbable.

Of even greater concern is the path to reach the 2030 targets. Meeting the 2030 targets will require transformational change in relation to all the drivers of poverty. While some good work is taking place, this is not at the scale necessary to deliver the transformation required. In addition, existing commitments, such as the expansion of early learning and school age childcare, employability support, and the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, have been put at risk by a lack of funding needed to deliver them, and in some cases funding reductions.

In view of recent statistics and the scale and effects of actions taken over the last year, the Commission’s opinion is that it is unlikely that the interim targets will be met. Furthermore, without immediate and significant action, the Scottish Government will not meet the 2030 targets.”

Scottish Government response

As reflected in section 2 of the report, while the latest statistics show that child poverty rates remain broadly stable, our modelling does indicate that the package of policies in place can have a positive impact on levels of child poverty. The latest modelling estimates that in 2024-25, a package of nine Scottish Government policies will cumulatively reduce the relative poverty rate by 10 percentage points, and the absolute child poverty rate by 7 percentage points, compared to if these policies had not been in place.

As noted by the Commission, available statistics do not yet account for the expansion and increase in value of the Scottish Child Payment from November 2022. It is estimated that the payment alone will keep around 60,000 children out of relative poverty in 2024-25, making a significant contribution in reducing child poverty.

Following his appointment in May 2024, the First Minister has made clear his commitment to eradicating child poverty, making this a national mission and his top priority in office. Eradicating child poverty is at the heart of work across the Scottish Government and we remain firmly committed to doing everything in the scope of our powers and limited budget to drive the progress necessary to meet the targets.

We are determined to do all we can to deliver action at the pace and scale required to meet the targets and will leave no stone unturned as we seek to do so. Through all of the action we are taking, we remain mindful of delivering value for money and maximum impact from public spending.

Section 1 of the report outlines the action taken across 2023-24 and priorities for 2024-25 in order to drive forward further progress.

Poverty and Inequality Commission comment / recommendation

In relation to what further progress the Commission considers is required to meet the child poverty targets the report of the Commission notes:

“Scotland is running out of time to meet our 2030 child poverty targets. We are halfway to the 2030 deadline and should be well beyond the stage of pilots and planning. The Scottish Government’s next progress report cannot just point to actions already taken nor propose more small-scale tests of change. The Scottish Government needs to restore faith and renew optimism in its commitment to the 2030 child poverty targets.

The First Minister has said that the eradication of child poverty is the single most important policy objective for his government. In order to deliver this the Scottish Government needs to be much bolder. There are hard choices to be made about revenue raising and spending. The child poverty targets are not just the Scottish Government’s targets, they are Scotland’s targets, voted for by all the parties in the Scottish Parliament. It is now time for all parties to demonstrate their commitment to the targets and participate in a cross-party conversation about taking these hard choices in the interests of children in Scotland.”

The Scottish Government is acutely aware of the pace and scale of action required to meet the 2030 child poverty targets. Funding for action on child poverty has been prioritised despite the difficult context as set out in the 2023 Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and the 2024-25 Scottish Budget.

As set out in Best Start, Bright Futures and reflected throughout this progress report, we know that action across all three drivers of child poverty is required to meet the targets we have set. We will continue to work closely with our partners across Scotland as we take forward our national mission to eradicate child poverty. Section 1 outlines the steps we are taking to ensure we are most effectively targeting our existing provision and services despite fiscal constraints.

The First Minister has made clear his commitment to working across the Scottish Parliament to build consensus on the action required. We will consider the recommendations produced by the Commission as we begin to develop the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan for 2026-31 over the course of this year.

The Commission provided four recommendations in relation to further progress required to meet the child poverty targets:

Poverty and Inequality Commission comment / recommendation

1. The Scottish Government should convene and lead a national cross-party and civil society agreement to develop a shared six year strategy to meet the 2030 child poverty targets.

Scottish Government response

Eradicating child poverty is the top priority of the Scottish Government and we are unequivocal in our commitment to meeting the 2030 targets to help children and families to thrive, and to support a strong and growing Wellbeing Economy.

As required under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, the Scottish Government will consult with a wide range of stakeholders in the preparation of the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan for the period 2026-31, which is due to be published by the end of March 2026. We will seek to build on the considerable evidence and action taken to date to inform our collective approach to eradicating child poverty.

We recognise that meeting the targets is extremely challenging, particularly in the current climate. Therefore, broad agreement will be required on the action to be prioritised to maintain the flightpath to the 2030 targets.

We welcome the Poverty and Inequality Commission’s offer to take a lead in convening this national poverty convention, in partnership with key stakeholders. We will consider the detailed recommendations of the Commission, and their potential role in building cross-party consensus and support, as we begin to develop the Plan with stakeholders in the course of 2024-25.

Poverty and Inequality Commission comment / recommendation

2. The Scottish Government should reprioritise funding to ensure that the necessary resources are made available to deliver both its existing commitments and future actions to tackle child poverty.

Scottish Government response

The Scottish Government has prioritised funding for child poverty commitments despite the extremely challenging and uncertain financial context set out both in the 2023 Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and the 2024-25 Scottish Budget publications. The 2024-25 Budget demonstrates our mission to eradicate child poverty through targeted investment such as increasing the Scottish Child Payment in line with inflation to £26.70 per week, and the investment of up to £90 million in devolved employability services across 2024-25.

In the MTFS we committed to focusing public spending on the Government’s key missions and, within this, directing resources to those in greatest need. This was taken forward in the 2024-25 Budget, for example, through expansion of free school meals provision to Primary 6 and 7 pupils of families in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment and connectivity provision for the most disadvantaged households with children. We will continue to direct resources towards our priorities and to ensure that we deliver value for money and maximum impact from public spending.

Alongside the 2024-25 Scottish Budget, we provided an analysis of the impact of tax and social security measures included in the Budget on households of different income levels and characteristics. We are exploring the potential to extend our analysis to cover public services and, if possible, intend to incorporate this into future Budget analyses.

In recognition of the importance of assessing the impact of our actions on those most in need, this distributional analysis also included analysis by six household types. These were selected to include, as far as possible, both the priority family types and particular protected characteristics as defined in the Equality Act 2010. However, sample size limitations in the underlying survey data prevents reliable analysis of all priority family types and protected characteristics. We intend to use the same household types for future distributional analysis publications.

Poverty and Inequality Commission comment / recommendation

3. The Scottish Government should act quickly on the recommendations set out in the Commission’s report How better tax policy can reduce poverty and inequality.

Scottish Government response

In several areas of this report, the Scottish Government either accepts the Commission’s recommendations, or agrees with the principles underlying them.

As the Commission notes, not all of the recommendations made in their tax report can be achieved without agreement from the UK Government. We agree with the Commission that further devolution of tax powers would enable the design of a tax system better suited to Scotland’s needs.

A key piece of work over the last year has been the development of a draft Tax Strategy, to be published alongside the 2024 MTFS. Officials have consulted widely as part of the process of developing the strategy, including with the Commission. The upcoming draft Tax Strategy will be an opportunity to consider the role of the tax system, strengthen decision making and stimulate public discourse on the priorities for Scottish taxes over the medium-term. The Strategy will also consider how the Scottish Government can take a more consistent approach to issues such as improving public understanding of tax.

We recognise the importance of improving public understanding of taxation as referenced by the Commission, and that is why we are investigating the possibility of developing a tax literacy guide based on the EU’s financial literacy framework. We are keen to develop this work with stakeholders, including the Commission. Across all of the Commission’s tax recommendations, Scottish Ministers have committed to engagement at official level, and this engagement has commenced.

Poverty and Inequality Commission comment / recommendation

4. The Scottish Government should clarify and further develop how the priority family types are used to inform policy development, implementation and monitoring in policy areas related to the three key drivers of poverty.

Scottish Government response

To support both Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plans published to date, the Scottish Government has published a range of information on the priority families and how that concept can be used to shape policy development and implementation.

Detailed focus reports for each priority family type were developed looking at progress in each of the three drivers of poverty. These were informed by lived experience, to provide an in-depth understanding of the barriers faced. Previously published reports covered minority ethnic families, lone parent families, families with a disabled adult or child, families with mothers aged 25 or under, and families with a baby, as well as a focus report on families with three or more children published by Public Health Scotland. In addition to the focus reports, the Scottish Government has published further details on poverty rates among priority groups over time, a summary evidence review of barriers and what works for these groups. To consolidate understanding of how to use and find all evidence available we have published the approach to reporting evidence on priority families. There have also been a series of deep dives exploring the issues affecting those in the priority groups with key stakeholders.

We continue to deepen our understanding of households most at risk of poverty. Beyond the experiences of priority groups that official statistics are able to identify, there is a wide range of evidence highlighting other disadvantaged groups who face specific barriers, too. It is important that policies consider the needs of all those facing poverty. In order to strengthen our understanding of the complex experiences other groups face, we have conducted an evidence review published in our latest focus report which covers experiences of other marginalised groups.

We see this understanding as being the basis on which policies should be designed and their effectiveness considered. We have also developed an evaluation framework which sets out how policy areas can assess the impact of policies on child poverty. The document covers how to use the priority family type concept as a way of assessing impact on poverty, and supports individual policy areas to develop that approach in a way which is most relevant to their context.

As set out in ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’, and in line with the Scottish Approach to Service Design, we seek to engage parents, in particular those from the six priority family types identified, to support the development of policies – enabling people to participate in the decisions that impact their lives. This includes for example, the in-depth work in communities within the six early adopter areas for school age childcare. This work takes a collaborative approach across multiple policy areas both at local and national levels, including tackling poverty, employability support and family wellbeing to ensure that public services are more people-centred and place based, aligning with our public service reform agenda. By embedding user experience at the heart of services, as we have done with our social security programme, we will best ensure that services meet the needs of the most disadvantaged in our society and help to eradicate child poverty.

Going forward, we acknowledge the crucial importance of focusing on supporting effective evaluation across the whole policy/planning cycle (formative/service design, process/service delivery and summative/impact), and that some policy areas are at earlier stages in that process than others. We will review the Commission’s recommendations in this space carefully to inform and strengthen our approach and would welcome further discussion on where we might most usefully concentrate our efforts.