Children in families with limited resources across Scotland 2014-2016

Foreword

This booklet features new, experimental statistics on children in families with limited resources, 2014-16.

In particular, it looks at children experiencing a combination of low income and material deprivation. This is one of the targets set out in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill, which has just been passed by the Scottish Parliament, but these statistics are being provided for the first time at local level.

It's important to note at the start that these new statistics are different from the existing national material deprivation statistics. They use a different data source, are based on different questions and a slightly different measure of low income, and the material deprivation threshold is in itself different. Therefore, the two are not comparable - this measure is designed for local purposes only.

These new statistics should help local authorities and other local partners think about how much of a problem child material deprivation is in their areas. And it will help them prioritise actions they should be including in their local child poverty plans. This should help reduce child material deprivation locally, which will in turn help make progress towards meeting national targets too.

These are 'experimental statistics', which means that the data and methodology will be improved for future updates. We would welcome your feedback to help make future releases better.