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

4. Decision

Throughout the development of the plan, and in completing this HIA, the Scottish Government has considered the impact of the plan on health outcomes in Scotland, particularly with regard to how to address health inequalities for children and their families.

In addition to the large evidence base already held by the Scottish Government on the relationship between poverty and health, the extensive consultation exercise undertaken in developing the plan has been crucial in understanding its impact on health outcomes. This included engagement with people with lived experience of poverty and expert stakeholder organisations advocating for addressing health inequalities.

As a result, no negative impacts on health outcomes have been identified. Instead, this assessment has found that the plan should have positive impacts on health outcomes for children and families given the plan’s focus on increasing earned incomes, maximising incomes from social security, reducing the costs of living and supporting children and families to thrive.