Aberlour's response to the Child Poverty Statistics 2026

Children have the right to grow up free from poverty. 

Today both the UK and Scottish Governments have published new poverty statistics, including rates of child poverty.

In Scotland we can see that the introduction of more progressive social security policies, such as the unique Scottish Child Payment, is having a positive impact. The latest statistics show that 27% of children in the UK are living in relative poverty, compared to 21% in Scotland. 

However this means that over 1 in 5 children in Scotland are still living in poverty - a shameful statistic for a country whose top priority is eradicating child poverty. That equates to 210,000 children missing out on the opportunities, experiences and essentials that every child should have.

And 75% of these children are living in working households, showing how much more needs to be done to promote fair work - that is well paid and secure jobs - alongside flexible and affordable childcare. 

Whilst the rate of child poverty in Scotland is slowly moving downwards, the pace is nowhere near fast enough we are to meet our legally binding child poverty targets by 2030/31 - that’s only a few years’ time. And we know that some families remain at higher risk of poverty and disadvantage, including those in disabled households and single parent families.

Political choices around eradicating child poverty have taken us so far, but this must be matched by far more high impact and practical measures to lift all families out of poverty for good. This includes increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £55 a week by the end of the next Parliament, tackling the public debt crisis which traps families in poverty, and improving our social security system to maximise household income and remove the barriers which leave so many families behind. 

We remain steadfast in our call to all political parties in Scotland - the next Parliament must be the parliament where we prioritise ending child poverty above all else.

Justina Murray

Aberlour CEO