Understanding Child Poverty in Rural and Island Scotland

The Scottish Government has published SRUC research ‘Improving our Understanding of Child Poverty in Rural and Island Scotland' - you can view the full publication here.

The Scottish Government has declared eradicating child poverty a national mission, and is working to mobilise all of Scotland to help achieve this goal.

Poverty is experienced differentially across Scotland, so the design and delivery of holistic services should be based on the needs of each community. There are particular and distinct challenges to addressing child poverty in rural and island geographies, which is why the Scottish Government commissioned SRUC’s ‘deep-dive’ research ‘Improving our understanding of child poverty in rural and island Scotland’.

The research highlights that by tackling generic or structural challenges associated with living in a rural or island communities, in partnership with key partners, we will help to alleviate child poverty across these areas. 

The aim is to better understand the specific contextual difficulties for tackling child poverty in rural and island communities, and to ensure that this understanding is embedded in the policies that are developed and delivered across Government, and in our communities. Every effort will be made to ensure that projects and interventions align with, and form part of, the work being led by the Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty Strategy Unit and our second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan: ‘Best Start, Bright Futures: Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-2026’.

See the full publication here.