Bringing Hope, Building Futures: Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2026-2031 – annex 2: Analysis of consultation and engagement

Executive Summary

Introduction

In developing the third and final Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, the Scottish Government built upon the strategy and policy identified in the first delivery plan, Every Child, Every Chance and the second delivery plan, Best Start, Bright Futures. It was also informed by the wide range of evidence collected through progress reports, statistics, cumulative impact modelling, systems thinking and international reviews.

The Scottish Government undertook a call for evidence between February and April 2025 to further inform the third Plan. Stakeholders and organisations, or their representatives, were proactively asked to request evidence, data or information on policy options towards reaching the 2030 targets. The call was policy-focused and sought views of different proposed policy directions through nine open-ended questions (see Appendix A). Additionally, the Scottish Government and its partner organisations organised a series of engagement events, including with people with lived experience of poverty.

Strategic Direction and Themes

Respondents were asked for their views on the four strategic themes proposed by the Scottish Government:

• Increasing earned incomes by supporting and providing opportunities for parents and carers to enter, sustain and progress in work.
• Reducing the costs of living and maximising incomes from social security to allow families to live dignified lives and meet their basic needs.
• Delivering holistic and whole family support to improve outcomes and wellbeing, and enable families to better engage with other services that directly increase their incomes.
• Supporting children and young people to reach their full potential and to break the cycle of poverty in the longer term.

The vast majority supported the themes, while some also provided suggestions aimed at strengthening the strategic focus.

This included proposals by some respondents to amend the second strategic theme, where they recommended dividing the theme into two separate points. It was felt that reducing the cost of living and maximising social security should be considered distinctly. Others asked for clarity around definitions, with calls for measurable outcomes to be included in the strategic themes.

Increasing Earned Incomes

Respondents expressed positive views on the current Fair Work policies, recognising the value of flexible working for parents and the promotion of anti-discrimination approaches within organisations and businesses. Others felt that while the programmes and policies were off to a good start, further investment and funding would be required to make them more impactful. Some suggested signposting to toolkits and reference to peer mentoring could be usefully included, whereas others recommended more support for normalising flexible working.

Access to high-quality childcare was also raised as a concern by respondents and participants at events, as many felt difficulties with childcare were still impeding some low-income parents from finding meaningful employment. While they acknowledged the positive impacts of recent policies, such as extended free childcare for eligible families, there was still a concern that some families were unable to benefit from this. Some respondents raised issues with what they felt was inconsistent delivery of childcare across Scotland, particularly for rural and remote areas. Respondents provided different recommendations, from extending eligibility of free childcare to wage-setting for early years practitioners to encourage growth and stability across the profession.

Other areas considered important to address by respondents and participants included transport concerns and skills and training programmes.

Reducing the Cost of Living & Maximising Social Security

Several respondents were supportive of existing social security benefits. Most commonly cited was the Scottish Child Payment, which respondents felt had a positive impact on lifting children out of poverty. Best Start Foods, Best Start Grant and Child Winter Heating Payment were also mentioned. However, a small number also supported greater funding of those grants, and many supported continued pressure on the UK government to end the two-child limit in Universal Credit (which will be abolished from April 2026).

Another concern raised by both respondents and participants at the events was the impact of the increasing cost of living on families experiencing poverty. Respondents praised some of the policies and programmes put in place by the Scottish Government and partners, including the Scottish Child Payment described above, school clothing grants, free prescriptions, free school meals, the baby box, free period products and whole family support. Others highlighted that financial support services, often provided by local authority-supported programmes, can provide advice on budgeting, addressing debt and money management. General forms of support and advocacy were also mentioned as helpful, particularly those provided by third sector organisations and local authorities. A few respondents felt emergency support provided to families could be improved, specifically that this support should be less crisis-focused and instead work to break the cycle of poverty by providing funding over a longer period.

Alongside comments about social security and the cost of living, respondents and participants also mentioned concerns about housing costs and social housing shortages and the impact of public debt on families experiencing poverty.

Holistic and whole family support

Respondents and participants brought up the importance of viewing the experiences of poverty holistically, recognising the physical and mental wellbeing impacts of poverty for families. Respondents highlighted how poverty can lead to stress, trauma, anxiety, and social isolation, leading to poor mental health. Improvements to family wellbeing through a more coordinated approach across services and better access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) was also mentioned.

Adopting a whole family approach to poverty was recommended by some. It was felt that this was the best way to break generational cycles of poverty and would improve outcomes for children and young people. Respondents highlighted the importance of providing practical, financial and emotional support to families. The need for sustained long-term funding and resourcing to deliver this was raised, as was the value of community-based local support, collaborative and partnership approaches, and taking an evidence-led approach.

Respondents also mentioned barriers to receiving family support should be addressed, such as improving consistency in provision across geographical areas, acknowledging negative previous experiences and improving accessibility. They also emphasised the importance of peer support and mentoring to help families.

Support for children and young people

Some respondents spoke about the benefits of education, which was felt to be essential in supporting children and young people, providing a foundation for future learning, and preparing them for the world of work. The role of education in enabling parents to work was also noted. A common theme was that specific skills should be taught in schools, particularly financial literacy. Others felt that it was important that services integrated more effectively with schools to provide children with well-rounded care and support.

Some respondents raised the issue of ensuring a range of pathways to post-school education were available for children and young people. For example, calling for more support for those wishing to pursue vocational qualifications or apprenticeships. A few respondents called on the Scottish Government to do more to improve access to school education and address non-attendance.

Reducing the cost of the school day was mentioned by several, including highlighting the benefits of the free school lunch programme, which should be extended to older children or more targeted to those in need. Beyond school meals, some respondents highlighted the cost of other aspects of the school day. These included transportation, uniforms, school trips, and extracurricular activities.

Areas of further improvement mentioned by a few included additional investments in early years and effective engagement with children and young people. A few felt that interventions needed to start earlier, during pregnancy. These respondents noted that experiences during pregnancy and the first 1,000 days had been demonstrated to show long-term impacts on a child’s development and future outcomes. Others suggested engagement with children and young people through youth work and Community Learning and Development (CLD), which support young people to build their skills and confidence and achieve positive destinations. These respondents called for more long-term funding to increase access to these approaches.

Integrated support and resourcing

Across the call for evidence and engagement events, the most commonly mentioned action was the need for long-term, sustainable funding to support child poverty reduction. Respondents noted that difficulties arise in service planning and provision due to uncertainty, in skilled staff recruitment and retention, and misalignment between long-term projects and interventions and funding cycles. Respondents recommended providing longer term funding for third sector support, services and advocates.

Improving collaborative working between public bodies, with third sector organisations and across sectors was mentioned by several. This included the ‘No Wrong Door’ approach to providing integrated support, which was mentioned by some respondents who felt that this approach supported dignity and minimised duplication of work.

Other areas of development recommended to improve support and services included co-designed approaches with community outreach, more funding for the third sector and improved monitoring and evaluation of impacts of different programmes and services. Respondents frequently acknowledged that tackling child poverty requires consideration across multiple policy areas and highlighted several perceived challenges in policy development and delivery where they felt more coordination would be beneficial. Awareness of the impact of stigma on children and young people experiencing poverty and how it may affect uptake of services was mentioned by a few respondents and participants throughout the consultation and engagement events.

Understanding challenges and support for marginalised groups

To understand better the unique challenges faced by those at greatest risk of poverty, respondents felt co-production with those with lived experience would be beneficial. Others stressed the importance of improved data collection, particularly with marginalised groups with whom there is limited research, such as minority ethnic groups. These respondents emphasised the importance of data sharing between statutory services, public bodies and third sector partners to ensure services are best able to help those most at risk of poverty.

Many respondents supported the classification of the six priority groups but provided other groups for further consideration, including the importance of intersectional approaches for those experiencing multiple disadvantages. Several respondents throughout the call for evidence and participants at the engagement events emphasised the importance of considering gender in understanding the experiences of different marginalised groups. Others felt that rurality was a factor in differing experiences of poverty as well. Finally, there was support among some respondents to consider the experiences of those families with no recourse to public funds, particularly passported benefits, when considering marginalised groups.

Lived experience engagement events

Lived experience engagement events reaffirmed some of the considerations mentioned throughout the call for evidence including the importance of considering mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, including stigma, person-centred approaches, peer support, support during key transitions (i.e. leaving school and moving into post-school destinations), with a range of accessible pathways offered, and support with the cost of living including reduced housing, transport and childcare costs.

Conclusions

There was strong support for the proposed strategic themes. Respondents and participants provided suggestions, recommendations and caveats to their support. Certain themes appeared throughout the call for evidence and the engagement events, including the importance of increased funding to deliver impactful services, greater understanding of the impact of poverty particularly through a gendered lens, and improved collaboration between services and supports that engage with children and young people.

These responses provide valuable evidence and insight that the Scottish Government can use to finalise the third and final Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan and shape services through to 2031.