Scottish Rural Development Programme 2014-2020: ex-post evaluation - main report

28. Living below the poverty line

This chapter answers CEQ25: To what extent has the RDP contributed to achieving the EU 2020 headline target of reducing the number of Europeans living below the national poverty line?

Response

According to the Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland National Statistics report published in March 2024 over the three years from 2011 to 2014 the average relative poverty (60% of UK median income after housing costs) rate was 18% for all people. The rate was 19% for those in urban areas and 13% for those living in rural areas. In total there were 930,000 people living in relative poverty, with 790,000 living in urban areas and 140,000 living in rural areas.

By the end of the SRDP in 2020, these figures increased to 19% for all of Scotland, 20% in urban areas and 17% in rural areas based on the three-year average from 2017 to 2020. In total there were 1,030,000 people living in relative poverty, with 830,000 living in urban areas and 200,000 living in rural areas.

By 2023, the end of SRDP expenditure period, relative poverty further increased at the national level to 21%, with 22% of those in urban areas living in relative poverty and 15% in rural areas. In total there were 1,100,000 people living in relative poverty, with 920,000 living in urban areas and 190,000 living in rural areas based on the three year average from 2020 to 2023.

Conclusion

The SRDP 2014-2020 did not have a direct or explicit role to alleviate poverty.

By increasing the economic viability of businesses and (relatively minor) job creation, it is likely to have contributed to increasing the standard of living for some beneficiaries. The single best way to get out of poverty is by getting a job.

However, there was no evidence on the extent to which SRDP beneficiaries fall below the national poverty line and therefore it was not possible to comment on the extent to which the SRDP has contributed to reducing the number of people living below the national poverty line. Further, poverty remains a greater problem in urban areas than it is in rural areas (albeit that is not to say that rural poverty is not a challenge).