Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan: Progress Report 2025-26

Footnotes

1 At four stages during schooling (P1, P4, P7 and S3), teacher judgements are used to assess individual pupil performance in literacy and numeracy relevant to their stage.

2 Measure based on asking people whether, and how often, they were worried about running out of food, had to reduce meal sizes or skip meals.

3 Inclusive of Pupil Equity Fund and Scottish Attainment Challenge investment.

4 Outturn figures for 2025-26 are provisional and subject to change. % of spend that targeted children based on DWP statxplore data (approx. 97% of households affected by the benefit cap are families).

5 Funding issued to Corra Foundation, Aberlour and Children First, per table 4.4.

6 The share of this funding assumed to benefit children in low income households has increased from 75% to 100% in 2025-26, previously only spending within SIMD most deprived areas was counted.

7 Includes universal free school meals. Due to the interaction of various free school meal funds and varied take up of the offer, the whole fund is assumed to benefit children in low income households.

8 The estimate of the policy’s spend targeted at low income households was calculated as a proportion of all children that are in relative poverty after housing costs (23% in 2021-24).

9 Inclusive of spend through Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships (WAHPs) and the Advice in Accessible Settings Fund (ASF). ASF targeted spend calculated based on project level data.

10 Inclusive of funding to Advice Direct Scotland, Christians Against Poverty, MTT, Money Advice Trust, One Parent Families Scotland and Stepchange. Calculated using both project level data and proportion of people in poverty who are children.

11 Outturn figures for 2025-26 are still provisional and subject to change. 14.9% of beneficiaries of bedroom tax mitigation were families, based on DWP statsxplore data. Proportion of people in poverty who are children applied to budget for other DHPs.

12 Includes investment through Area Based Schemes, Wamer Homes Scotland, spend focused on social housing and affordable housing and a proportion of funding for advice through Home Energy Scotland which is likely to benefit low income households.

13 Funding inclusive of Regeneration Capital Grant Fund, Place Based Investment Programme and Communities Empowerment Programme.

14 Based on funding allocated to families with children.