The Poverty and Inequality Commission has today published a report that reviews progress on the fifteen recommendations made in ‘Shifting the Curve’, the first report by Naomi Eisenstadt in her role as the First Minister’s Independent Advisor on Poverty and Inequality.

Overall, our review finds that there has been considerable activity over the past three years in response to the recommendations. Particular areas in which there has been welcome progress include the introduction of the Fairer Scotland duty in April 2018; actions taken to ensure delivery of 50,000 affordable homes and the development of a strategy to tackle fuel poverty.

Read moreWhat has happened since ‘Shifting the Curve’

The Commission’s first Annual Public Meeting took place on 21 June. The aim of the event was to consult on future priorities for the work of the Commission and brought together people with lived experience of poverty and inequality and others whose experience comes from service delivery, policy development, or research.

Read moreTHE POVERTY AND INEQUALITY COMMISSION’S FIRST ANNUAL PUBLIC MEETING

‘Child poverty is one of the greatest problems facing my constituency, and being able to discuss genuine ways of improving social mobility for young people with the Poverty and Inequality Commission was fantastic.’ Huw Sherrard MSYP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane.

In April we joined the Scottish Youth Parliament’s Social Security Committee for a ‘Dragons’ Den’ workshop where MSYPs pitched some of their solutions to tackle poverty and inequality.

Read moreScottish Youth Parliament Social Security Committee

This guest blog from John H. McKendrick, Professor of Social Justice at Glasgow Caledonian University and co-director of The Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit (SPIRU), welcomes the Poverty and Inequality Commission’s advice on reducing child poverty, and reflects on parts that are specifically relevant to single parent families.

Read moreSingle minded? The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act and lone parent households

Responding to the publication today of the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Delivery Plan, Douglas Hamilton, Chair of the Poverty and Inequality Commission said,

“Poverty has a firm grip on Scotland. Low pay, high housing costs and insufficient benefits are locking families in a daily struggle to make ends meet. Without concerted action, more than a third of children will be living in poverty by 2030/2031.

Read morePoverty and Inequality Commission – statement on the Child Poverty Delivery Plan

This guest blog from Professor Stephen Sinclair, co-Director of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit at Glasgow Caledonian University, reflects on the step-change required to deliver the child poverty targets.

This blog post also appears on the Policy Scotland website http://policyscotland.gla.ac.uk/blog-child-poverty-pledges-require-bold-action/

To meet its own ambitious child poverty goals, the Scottish Government must be politically courageous in focusing public services where they are most needed, and ensuring employers play their part.

Read moreChild poverty pledges require bold action to redirect resources and address corporate welfare

In order to inform its advice on the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Delivery Plan, the Poverty and Inequality Commission asked Policy Scotland to review the Scottish Government’s existing work on child poverty to analyse the impact of the work so far and the extent to which it was likely to have a direct impact on the 2030 child poverty target measures. This blog from Evan Williams at Policy Scotland reflects on the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Strategy 2014-2017.

This blog was originally posted on the Policy Scotland website http://policyscotland.gla.ac.uk/reflecting-child-poverty-strategy/

The success of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act will rely on policy initiatives that explicitly target welfare and housing provision.

Read moreReducing child poverty in Scotland: Reflecting on the Child Poverty Strategy 2014-2017

Katie Schmuecker, member of the Poverty and Inequality Commission and Head of Policy at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, blogs on the Commission’s advice on how to loosen poverty’s grip on children and families in Scotland.

This blog post was originally published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation https://www.jrf.org.uk/blog/scotlands-chance-ensure-every-child-can-lead-decent-life

Scotland should be a place where every child gets a good start in life and can succeed. Poverty holds children back and hinders their progress, yet a quarter of children in Scotland currently experience poverty.

Read moreScotland’s chance to ensure every child can lead a decent life

Scotland’s Poverty and Inequality Commission has advised that the Scottish Government will need to make significant use of new social security powers if it is going to meet challenging targets to reduce child poverty.

In its first report, Advice on the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018 published today (Monday 26 February), the Commission called on the Government to set out the extent to which it intends to use social security powers, alongside action on work and earnings and addressing housing costs, to meet its 2030 child poverty targets.

Chairman for the Commission, Douglas Hamilton said:

“The Scottish Government needs to be realistic about the scale of the challenge that the country faces in tackling child poverty. It needs to set out the actions that will make the greatest impact.  New social security powers will need to be used to help reach the targets and the Government needs to be clear the extent to which it is prepared to introduce new benefits or top-up existing ones.  Benefits are not the answer alone, however. More needs to be done to support parents into work and to progress in work while finding new ways to reduce housing costs for the poorest households.”

Read moreCommission advises Scotland’s social security powers need to help combat child poverty

Over the past few months I’ve been working along with my fellow Commissioners to get the work of the Poverty and Inequality Commission underway. I’m delighted that we now have a website where we’ll share our work, ask people to get involved, and also invite other organisations and individuals to blog about their experiences and the work they are doing to tackle poverty and inequality.

Read moreDouglas Hamilton, Chair of the Poverty and Inequality Commission