Tackling child poverty - progress report 2024-2025: annex C - decomposition analysis of the child poverty statistics
Annex C provides analysis of the Scottish child poverty statistics to understand what has driven changes in the relative child poverty rate since the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 came into force. Particularly through the lens of key characteristics such as number of children in the family.
Appendix A – Descriptive Data Tables
| Characteristic subgroups | Percentage of children by group 2015-18 | Percentage of children by group 2021-24 | Poverty rate within group 2015-18 | Poverty rate within group 2021-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owned/mortgage | 60% | 61% | 11% | 10% |
| Social rented sector | 24% | 27% | 45% | 45% |
| Private rent housing | 15% | 13% | 44% | 42% |
| Total of all households with children | 100% | 100% | 24% | 23% |
Note: Tenure is estimated by household rather than benefit unit. Percentages may not sum due to rounding.
Source: Author’s calculations based on the Households below average income (HBAI) data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) in various years.
| Characteristic subgroups | Percentage of children by group 2015-18 | Percentage of children by group 2021-24 | Poverty rate within group 2015-18 | Poverty rate within group 2021-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owned/mortgage | 60% | 61% | 12% | 10% |
| Social rented sector | 24% | 27% | 37% | 42% |
| Private rent housing | 15% | 13% | 27% | 34% |
| Total of all households with children | 100% | 100% | 20% | 22% |
Note: Tenure is estimated by household rather than benefit unit. Percentages may not sum due to rounding.
Source: Author’s calculations based on the Households below average income (HBAI) data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) in various years.
| Characteristic subgroups | Percentage of children by group 2015-18 | Percentage of children by group 2021-24 | Poverty rate within group 2015-18 | Poverty rate within group 2021-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Couple with children | 77% | 78% | 20% | 20% |
| Single with children | 23% | 22% | 40% | 36% |
| Total of all families with children | 100% | 100% | 24% | 23% |
Note: Family type is estimated by benefit unit rather than household. Percentages may not sum due to rounding.
Source: Author’s calculations based on the Households below average income (HBAI) data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) in various years.
| Characteristic subgroups | Percentage of children by group 2015-18 | Percentage of children by group 2021-24 | Poverty rate within group 2015-18 | Poverty rate within group 2021-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time work | 37% | 41% | 12% | 12% |
| Mixed work | 49% | 47% | 23% | 25% |
| None working | 14% | 12% | 61% | 55% |
| Total of all families with children | 100% | 100% | 24% | 23% |
Note: Working status is estimated by benefit unit rather than household. Percentages may not sum due to rounding. Full-time work refers to families where all adults are in full-time work; mixed work refers to families where not all adults are in full-time work, but at least one adult is working; none working refers to families where no adult is working.
Source: Author’s calculations based on the Households below average income (HBAI) data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) in various years.
| Characteristic subgroups | Percentage of children by group 2015-18 | Percentage of children by group 2021-24 | Poverty rate within group 2015-18 | Poverty rate within group 2021-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 child | 33% | 29% | 25% | 22% |
| 2 children | 43% | 45% | 20% | 14% |
| 3 or more children | 24% | 27% | 32% | 41% |
| Total of all families with children | 100% | 100% | 24% | 23% |
Note: Number of children is estimated by benefit unit rather than household. Percentages may not sum due to rounding.
Source: Author’s calculations based on the Households below average income (HBAI) data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) in various years.
Contact
Email: TCPU@gov.scot