Bringing Hope, Building Futures: Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2026-2031 – annex 12: Health Impact Assessment (HIA)

3. Analysis of Evidence and Assessment

Overall Health Impacts of the Plan

No negative impacts on health outcomes have been identified in the development of the plan, but rather it is expected to generate positive impacts in addressing health inequalities for children and families in Scotland, with a particular focus on the six priority family groups.

Evidence shows that the approach taken in the previous two delivery plans has made a significant difference to families in Scotland. Driven by evidence of the drivers of poverty reduction, and the views of those who shared their experiences with us, the plan now focuses on four key themes and 15 interconnected areas where further progress is needed in order to eradicate child poverty in Scotland:

Increasing earned incomes

• Providing aligned skills and employment support for parents and young people
• Expanding the availability of flexible and affordable childcare for families
• Ensuring public transport is available, affordable and accessible and connects parents and young people to work
• Driving positive change in labour market and workplace conditions

Reducing the costs of living

• Delivering more social and affordable homes for families
• Ending child homelessness
• Making homes cheaper to heat
• Tackling public sector debt

Maximising incomes from social security

• Strengthening support through social security
• Maximising take-up of Scottish and UK Government benefits to ensure all families receive the support they are entitled to
• Increasing accessibility of money and debt advice for families

Supporting children and families to thrive

• Supporting young families: investing in early child development
• Ensuring children and young people can reach their full potential
• Delivering Whole Family Support
• Making best use of data to support children and families and improve public services

Through wide-ranging action under these themes and areas of focus, the plan will seek to address many of the factors identified as being crucial in both tackling poverty and improving health outcomes.

Though there are no negative impacts identified, we will continue to monitor and evaluate the impacts our policy package over the life of the plan to ensure any potential negative impacts are addressed. Policy teams should also continue to monitor their individual policies in this regard.

No specific changes to the plan have been required as a result of this assessment. Stakeholders have been broadly supportive of the plan and no negative health-related impacts have been identified which would require a reversal of the policy or a change in approach.

Further details are provided below on the positive impacts that each of the four key themes should have on health outcomes and in addressing health inequalities.

Increasing Earned Incomes

Increasing earned incomes through employability support, fair work practices, accessible and affordable transport, and the expansion of childcare is expected to have positive impacts on parental mental health, family stability and children’s developmental outcomes.

The plan’s focus on aligned skills and employment support, as well as strengthening key services to facilitate secure employment, will address material barriers that several parents face to entering and sustaining work. When parents have access to stable employment with good conditions, evidence indicates reductions in financial strain and stress, leading to improvements in parenting capacity, mental health, family routines and children’s wellbeing.

The additional emphasis on flexible and affordable childcare is particularly important to enable mothers of young children to participate in employment while their child continues to receive vital support around early learning and school preparedness. Children may also benefit through improved nutrition via regular breakfasts and school meals.

The focus on reliable and affordable transport aims to lower the cost and practical barriers to work and training, but should also benefit families in accessing vital health appointments.

All of these factors are strongly associated with improved early development and later educational participation, which in turn predict healthier adult life trajectories.

Reducing the Costs of Living

Reducing unavoidable costs - particularly housing, energy and school‑day costs - acts on some of the most important determinants of child health. The plan’s investment in more social and affordable homes, action to tackle homelessness and measures to improve energy efficiency and address fuel poverty are all expected to have positive impacts on both mental and physical health of children and their families.

This includes reducing respiratory illness, improving growth and nutrition, stabilising sleep and routines, and reducing parental stress. In housing specifically, moving from damp or overcrowded settings to warm, adequately sized homes is associated with fewer infections, improved mental health and better school attendance. For families with disabled members, adaptations and accessible design also reduce injury risk and caregiving strain. Engagement participants described the emotional and physical toll of temporary accommodation and poor‑quality housing, adding weight to the plan’s focus on supply and standards.

Interventions to lower energy costs and improve home energy efficiency will mitigate fuel poverty’s well‑documented harms in winter, including cold stress, exacerbations of respiratory conditions, and parental trade‑offs between heating and food. The benefits are likely to be of particular benefit to families in remote and rural areas and for those with disabled children with heightened thermal needs. These improvements in daily conditions form a foundation for longer‑term health by reinforcing participation in education and social life.

Maximising Incomes from Social Security and Benefits in Kind

Maximising incomes from social security - through strengthening support, maximising uptake and improving accessibility of advice - remains one of the clearest routes to lifting families out of poverty and addressing health inequalities. Maximising income in this way should reduce material deprivation, food insecurity and parental stress, with measurable effects on infant health and child development in the early years.

Evidence from Scotland shows that the combination of child‑contingent payments and benefits‑in‑kind (e.g. free school meals, the Baby Box and Child Winter Heating Payment) improves household resilience and reduces the depth of poverty, particularly for lone parents and larger families. Engagement participants stressed that stigma and application complexity can still reduce take‑up and the plan’s moves towards proactive outreach and strengthening of advice services are therefore central to realising health benefits at scale.

Increasing the money families receive from their entitlements can also lead to improved nutrition, warmth and stability in the household, which in turn reduces the frequency of illness, supports regular school attendance and participation, and lowers parental anxiety.

Where advice services are co‑located in health, education or community settings, families are more likely to access their entitlements early, preventing crises. For disabled parents and for families with disabled children, smoother case transfers and shorter processing times are particularly important to avoid harmful income gaps.

Supporting Children and Families to Thrive

The suite of measures under the final theme - including support from pre-conception to the first years of a child’s life, strengthened Health Visiting and Family Nurse Partnership reach, mentoring for care‑experienced and disadvantaged young people, and Whole Family Support - collectively represents a clear link between the plan and improved health outcomes.

Early years measures target a critical developmental period when environmental inputs have important effects on lifelong health. By supporting maternal mental health, attachment and home learning environments, and by ensuring nutrition and warmth in infancy, these actions set trajectories that are protective against later mental and physical ill-health.

In the school years, youth work, mentoring and inclusive practices reduce the harms of stigma, build confidence and belonging, and keep young people engaged – all of which is crucial for long‑term wellbeing. Whole Family Support, delivered through integrated, relational models, can reduce crisis escalation and help families navigate services without repeated retelling - an issue raised repeatedly during the engagement process.