Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2018-2022: annex 2
Further technical information annexed within the tackling child poverty delivery plan 2018-2022.
What is child poverty?
The targets
The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act sets out four measures of relative poverty and statutory targets for Scotland to reach by 2030. These targets are:
| Target |
Description |
Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| For less than 10% of children to be in relative poverty |
The proportion of children living in households with incomes below 60% of the median (middle) UK income in the current year. |
Recognises that individual and household needs are relative to societal standards of living and measures whether the incomes of the poorest households are keeping up with growth in average (middle) incomes in the current year. |
| For less than 5% of children to be in absolute poverty |
The number of children living in households with incomes below 60% of the median UK income in 2010/11, adjusted for inflation. |
Assessment of whether living standards at the bottom of the income distribution are rising or falling (keeping pace with inflation) irrespective of those elsewhere in the income distribution. |
| For less than 5% of children to be in combined low income and material deprivation |
The number of children living in households with incomes below 70% of the median UK income AND going without certain basic goods and services (such as a warm winter coat, a holiday away from home, money to replace worn out furniture etc.) |
Enables an analysis of a household’s ability to use resources to buy essentials as well as of the income coming into the household. |
| For less than 5% of children to be in persistent poverty |
The number of children who have lived in relative poverty in 3 of the last 4 years. |
Living in poverty for a significant period of time is more damaging than brief periods spent with a low income. |
All data in this report uses three year averages of income data for the period 2013/14 to 2015/16. New data for 2016/17 was published on 22 March, but it was not possible to incorporate this into this analysis. A detailed explanation of the definition of income and material deprivation is included at the end of this document.
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