Analysis of the Extent to Which the Child Poverty Is an Issue in Scotland

When we open a discussion regarding poverty, we first have to understand what poverty is. The Scottish Poverty Information Unit defines poverty as “’Poverty is defined relative to the standards of living in a society at a specific time. People live in poverty when they are denied an income sufficient for their material needs and when these circumstances exclude them from taking part in activities which are an accepted part of daily life in that society.’ (JRF 2019) Poverty is not about what you don’t have but instead how this can affect your accessibility to living a happy and healthy life. At 19%, or just over one million people, Scotland has one of the lowest poverty rates in the UK – only Northern Ireland has a lower rate (BBC Scotland 2019) Despite this, when we dig deeper we can see that poverty in Scotland is still a gross issue and its main group is children, this is shown in what the JF charity said regarding Scotland’s lower poverty levels ‘But that is cold comfort to the growing number of families caught in a rising tide of in-work poverty, especially those in low paid work, with limited hours and facing UK social security cuts.” (JRF 2019). In work poverty is a detrimental cycle to be stuck in, families work low paid and highly discouraging jobs to still at the end of the day come out with not enough. “Poverty has increased by around a third, this increase is due to an increase in the rate of poverty in households where someone works” (Institute of Fiscal Studies)

Congreve (2019) states that poverty in Scotland is rising at an alarming rate and has been since 2009. At the moment, 20% of the population live in relative poverty (The Scottish Government, 2019), this equates to 1 in 5 people in Scotland having a household income 60% below the average (CPAG, 2019). Whilst poverty has always existed, these latest figures show the extent to which it is a problem. These figures will not have been helped with the corona virus pandemic, people in low income jobs are more vulnerable to losing them, as many businesses go into liquidation. As well as this, with lockdown causing children to stay at home and Scottish parents now having to pay an average of £111 per week, or almost £5,800 per year, for just a part time nursery place (Coram Family and Childcare) it is often more financially viable for them to resign from part time employment than it is to pay for childcare.

These inequalities have very detrimental effects on not only peoples physical health but also their mental health. In infancy, it is associated with a low birth weight, shorter life expectancy and a higher risk of death in the first year of life. Children living in poverty are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases and diet-related problems. (BMA 2017). These disadvantages can have knock on effects as they are likely to increase the amount of sick days someone in poverty may take, which could be considered by an employer when deciding on employees, this is just another reason that people in poverty find it so hard to get out. In terms on mental health, it was found that income and unmanageable debt, unemployment, poor housing conditions, and other socioeconomic factors all contribute to high suicide rates. (Samaritans 2017). These statistics are absolutely heartbreaking and really highlight the extent of the poverty problem in Scotland.

An increasing problem in Scotland is child poverty, and it is estimated that in the next 4 years, levels of child poverty are expected to be the highest they have been in 20 years (Christie, 2019). There are however policies in place to try and prohibit the issue from getting worse. The Scottish Government introduced the child poverty bill to parliament in 2017, which sets out to reduce the number of children experiencing effects of poverty by 2030. The numerical aims of this bill is to have less than 10% of Scotland’s children living in relative poverty and less than 5% living in absolute poverty by 2030. (The Scottish Government, 2017). A child falling into poverty is completely avoidable. Despite this bill being passed, there is not enough practical action such as increased opportunities in deprived areas or social mobility for those with less qualifications, as well as this the stigma around people living in poverty is not helped by the way they are presented in the media. With headlines such as “Is Scotland a nation of lazy scroungers” (The Guardian, 2013) and “Benefit claimants are too lazy for difficult jobs” (Daily Express, 2014). Before Scotland can try and help those who have ended up in poverty, as a nation people need to be educated that not everyone in poverty is in it because of laziness or unwillingness to work but instead in such a tough economy, is it really that easy to just get a job?

In relation to child poverty, The Scottish Government’s aims to try and close the poverty related attainment gap in school to try and enable children to reach their full potential and the introduction of the Scottish Child Payment provides a starting point to introduce changes to traditional policies in a bid to try and solve poverty (Poverty in Scotland 2019) They have introduced the first Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2018-22, under The Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 which includes that every new born child is to receive a baby box of essentials including nappies, clothing, thermometer and bedding. This act also aims to provide funding for healthy and nutritious meals for free at school. These factors are what Scotland aim to put in place to reduce relative poverty in children to 10%. However, regardless of these changes, current projections suggest that by 2023-24 poverty will be at 29% forcing another 100,00 children under the poverty line (Corlett, 2019). Children falling into poverty is said to cost the government around 29 billion each year, dealing with issues such as more frequent doctor visits due to weaker immune systems, the higher need for welfare costs due to the attainment of lower paid jobs and more compromised mental health due to the hardships of less money.

What a child experiences in their home and how they are raised can have a greater impact on a child’s education than the school they attend, the socio-economic background will have a significant influence on whether a child will leave school early or go on to higher education.

Paterson et. al (2019) suggest that poverty must be defined within the geographical boundaries and they use census data for this. This is further supported by the Poverty Alliance (2014) who suggest poverty is more prevalent in the more deprived areas within the city of Glasgow as opposed to the more affluent area of West Dunbartonshire. Consequently, this has a direct impact on health and life expectancy. In a survey carried out in 2017 by Child Poverty Action Group, it was identified that babies born in the most deprived areas would weigh less, on average 200 grams less, to those born in the most affluent areas.

In conclusion, it is clear that poverty in Scotland nowadays is a huge problem. Evidence has proven that children in poverty are a lot more vulnerable and their conditions are more likely to affect not only their mental but also their physical wellbeing. With poverty steadily increasing from 2009 until now, it has taken nearly 10 years for the government to actually put in place plans to aid these people, this shows the lack of prioritization to people in need. Even with the new acts in place, there is still 100,000 children living under the poverty line. In the UK, Glasgow is the city with the biggest wage gap, therefore peers in less affluent areas have lesser opportunities and lesser life expectancies, this is a travesty that needs to be rectified. Poverty has many factors, and the emphasis that is placed on what life you’re born into is enormous now, despite the fact that children have no control over this. The cost of health is estimated to be around 29 billion each year, therefore the government should be investing more of this into children who are vulnerable and in need to try and get rid of poverty from children’s lives. This also means that if children don’t grow up in poverty, they are less likely to fall back into it as an adult.