Improving our understanding of child poverty in rural and island Scotland: research

1 Introduction and policy context

The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 sets out targets to reduce the number of children experiencing the effects of poverty. The Act requires Scottish Ministers to publish child poverty delivery plans at regular intervals, with annual reports to measure progress. Local authorities and health boards must also jointly publish annual reports on what they are doing to reduce child poverty in their area.

The first child poverty delivery plan, ‘Every child, every chance’ (Scottish Government, 2018a), noted several factors that add a rural dimension to poverty, and which may not be experienced by urban households. The cost of living, greater distance to services, the structure of rural employment and a lack of local childcare are mentioned as specific examples. The second child poverty delivery plan, ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’, was published in 2022 for the period 2022-26 (Scottish Government, 2022a). This research was completed before publication of the 2022-26 plan.

Purpose of this report

This report explores existing research on child poverty in rural and island communities to establish current knowledge on the topic and identify gaps in our understanding. It will:

• Identify key factors that cause and/or amplify child poverty in rural and island communities;
• Provide an overview of existing datasets that can be used to understand rural/island child poverty at regional and local scales;
• Highlight key gaps in our understanding of child poverty in rural and island communities; and
• Examine a range of interventions employed in rural and island communities to tackle the causes of child poverty and support those experiencing child poverty.

The report is based on an extensive desk-based review of academic research, other reports and available datasets, as well as a series of interviews with experts.