Low-income families in Scotland and across the UK are in the midst of an ever-worsening debt crisis.
The cumulative effects of multiple social and economic crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis affecting the UK, have disproportionately impacted on low-income families, reducing household incomes, increasing everyday costs and diminishing the effectiveness of social security and the wider welfare system. Joint research with One Parent Families Scotland and Trussell, and using Citizen Advice Scotland data, has shown that families with a disability and lone parent families are at a greater risk of having public debts/arrears.
Grounded in our Tayside Poverty Pilot Project and research by Professor Morag Treanor, of the University of Glasgow, we are working to raise the national conversation about doing public debt recovery differently by working in partnership with public and third sector partners and stakeholders.
Using our research and evidence we are calling for reform through policy and legislative change, nationally and locally. Our aim is to improve the lives of children and families across Scotland trapped in poverty because of public debt.