Scorecard for the Scottish Budget 2024-25

In December 2023, members of the End Child Poverty (ECP) coalition in Scotland set out what we believe needs to happen to shift the dial on child poverty. The Coalition is made up of over 80 organisations. Members in Scotland have longstanding expertise and policy calls informed by the voice of children and families. Overall, we urged the Scottish Government to apply a robust test across the entire Scottish Budget: will this meaningfully support Scotland’s child poverty ambitions? This briefing is our top-level ‘scorecard’ assessing how the draft Budget responded to this challenge, as measured against our calls.

In setting out this assessment, it is important to recognise that we have strongly welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment and actions to date to drive down child poverty across Scotland. Investment in the Scottish Child Payment is alone estimated to lift around 50,000 children out of poverty. Low-income families with children have seen their incomes boosted by around “a sizeable £2,000 a year” compared to those in England and Wales, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. As a result, there are families no longer relying on foodbanks, children able to join their friends in activities previously denied them, and struggling parents whose financial worries have lessened, and mental health improved. We know from our work, that the extra money has been spent on essentials, like nappies, while also helping parents travel to interviews, a new job, or college – opening up long-term routes out of poverty.

However, we are bitterly disappointed that the draft Scottish Budget for 2024-25 fails to sufficiently build on these efforts. As it stands, the Budget will, at best, stall progress in some areas, while hampering progress in others. Overall, there is a lack of concerted investment to further reduce child poverty in the short-term or to prevent it in the future. We are concerned by choices – such as funding a Council Tax freeze that will disproportionately benefit better off households whilst providing little if any support for low-income families – that do not align with the Government’s stated priority of tackling poverty. As a result, we are deeply concerned the Budget may be a step back, putting the statutory 2030 targets in yet more jeopardy.