Bringing Hope, Building Futures: Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2026-2031 – annex 7: Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA)

Background

The Act sets in statute four income-based child poverty targets to be met in 2030. The targets are largely focused on household income after housing costs, while also taking into account wider costs of living through the material deprivation measure. The 2030 targets are that, of children living in households in Scotland:

• Fewer than 10% of children live in relative poverty. This means fewer than one in ten children living in households with equivalised net incomes below 60% of the median (middle) equivalised net UK household income.
• Fewer than 5% of children live in families in absolute poverty. This means fewer than one in twenty children living in households with equivalised net incomes below 60% of the median equivalised net UK household income in 2010/11 adjusted for inflation.
• Fewer than 5% of children live in families living in combined low income and material deprivation. This means fewer than one in twenty children living in households with equivalised net incomes below 70% of the median equivalised net UK household income and going without certain essential goods and services.
• Fewer than 5% of children live in families in persistent poverty. This means fewer than one in twenty children living in households in relative poverty for three years out of the last four.

The Act requires Scottish Ministers to publish child poverty delivery plans covering set periods at regular intervals. The first Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan - Every Child, Every Chance: tackling child poverty delivery plan 2018-2022 - was published on 29 March 2018 and set out the initial actions to be taken to progress towards the ambitious child poverty targets set for 2030. The second plan – Best Start, Bright Futures: tackling child poverty delivery plan 2022-2026 – was published on 24 March 2022 and outlined the action to build upon the first plan. Since the publication of the first plan, the Scottish Government has produced annual progress reports outlining the action that has been taken and the impact towards the child poverty targets. Local Authorities and Health Boards also jointly publish annual Local Child Poverty Action Reports, setting out what they are doing to reduce child poverty in their local area.

Detail of progress toward the interim targets can be found in the 2024-25 annual progress report. The latest data on poverty will be published on 26 March 2026, reflecting a new link to Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) administrative data, which will help to further our understanding of poverty in Scotland.

Poverty affects a wide range of families with a variety of protected characteristics. However, around 90% of all children in poverty in Scotland live within the six priority family types identified in our first delivery plan: lone parent families, minority ethnic families, families with a disabled member, families with a mother aged under 25, families with a child under one and larger families (3+ children).^[2]

Evidence continues to suggest that the priority groups identified experience poverty at a higher rate than the rest of the population. Therefore, the policies and proposals in the 2026-31 delivery plan will continue to tackle the inequalities of outcome faced by these groups. We will continue to monitor and evaluate the impacts our policy package over the life of the plan to ensure it has the impact intended.

It is important to note there is significant intersectionality within these groups and, whilst we will focus our efforts on those most at risk of experiencing child poverty, we will use the priority family types as lenses through which we address the key barriers experienced by different groups. For example, among children in relative poverty:

• 49% of children in lone parent families also have a disabled family member;
• 50% of children in a family with a younger mother are also in a lone parent household;
• 49% of children in families with three or more children are also in a family in which someone is disabled.^[3]

Families with experience of multiple disadvantage are often among those deepest in poverty and experience most challenges to getting out of poverty. Most of these families are also likely to fall into at least one of our priority groups. Therefore, it is important that policies are mindful of the intersectionality, specific support needs and multiple barriers people can face.