Report finds 'a long way to go' to eradicate child poverty

Scotland is relatively well-placed to tackle child poverty compared with other parts of the UK, but there is still "a very long way to go" to eradicate the problem, a new report has found.

The latest state of the nation report from the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission looks at how child poverty is being addressed across the UK and makes recommendations for action.

It found that while child poverty levels are lower in Scotland than the rest of the country, 140,000 children are still growing up in poor families.

The report states: "Out of the 12 devolved nations and English regions, Scotland has the lowest rate of child poverty after housing costs, the second highest parental employment rate, the fourth lowest proportion of children in workless households and the third lowest prevalence of low-paid jobs.

"However, there is no room for complacency. There is still a very long way to go to eradicate child poverty in Scotland.

"Continued fiscal consolidation over the next few years will pose a number of challenges and social mobility outcomes appear to be as bad in Scotland as they are in England."

The commission has made four main recommendations for action that the Scottish Government could take to help reduce child poverty in the coming years.

It recommends the development of a new child poverty and life chances framework for Scotland to build on and replace the provisions currently contained in the Child Poverty Act 2010.

The Government should also collect and publish better data on social mobility, the report states.

It further recommends the Government ensures that the Commission on Widening Access - set up to give children from the poorest backgrounds as good a chance of going to university as those from the wealthiest backgrounds - focuses on improving the effectiveness of investment in widening participation, access to degree programmes and the impact of the student support system and student debt levels on the choices made by Scottish students.

Neil Mathers, Save the Children's head of Scotland, said: "This report is a stark reminder why urgent focus is needed to close the attainment gap and prevent it from becoming a chasm."

The report quotes figures from the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy, which found children in disadvantaged areas are three times as likely as those in advantaged areas to be assessed as not performing well in reading in S2.

"Scotland has shown leadership on the issue but we believe that this gap can't close without first ensuring that all children read well by the end of primary school," Mr Mathers said.

"Reading well is the first building block in children's learning and Save the Children want all parties to make an election promise to achieve this within the next decade.

"We wholeheartedly agree with the commission that action needs to start early on in a child's life.

"Much of a child's success in reading and at school depends on how their language progresses in their early years.

"Investment is needed in pre-school services now to tackle this early language gap. It is only right that we give every child the best chance to achieve their potential, regardless of background."

The Scottish Government welcomed the report and said careful consideration would be given to the recommendations.

A spokeswoman said: "We will build on and replace the provisions in the Child Poverty Act 2010 by repealing UK Government proposals to change the definition of child poverty. We will meet stakeholders in the new year to refine a Scottish approach to tackling poverty which will not ignore the 120,000 children whose parents are working on low incomes.

"Closing the 'attainment gap' in educational outcomes is key to our ambition of creating a fairer Scotland. We are supporting a wide range of initiatives to tackle the stubborn gap in educational outcomes between the most and least advantaged pupils, including our £100 million Attainment Scotland Fund and ensuring an attainment adviser is available in every local authority.

"We are investing in our teachers and providing focused support for children from our most disadvantaged communities. We have legislated on access to universities, funded additional places and have established the Commission on Widening Access to advise us on what more we can do."