What this indicator measures

This indicator assesses the extent to which Scotland’s targeted social security payments for families help reduce child poverty, offset the costs of caring and support parents experiencing financial hardship. It considers eligibility, adequacy, reach and whether support is designed to meet the needs of the families most at risk of poverty.

Key findings

• Scotland provides a suite of payments for families with young children, including Best Start Grants, Best Start Foods and the Scottish Child Payment
  
• Eligibility is tied to income and receipt of specific UK wide benefits, which limits access for some families
  
• Child poverty targets have not been met and recent data shows  relative poverty for children sitting at 22%
  
• Poverty rates are highest in priority groups including single parent families, minority ethnic households, families with disabled members and families with very young children
  
• Payment levels do not fully reflect the costs of raising children or the wider impacts of caring on income
  
• Some families on low incomes do not qualify for support under current rules

Impacts on families

Parents report that payments help with essential costs but do not significantly change financial insecurity, especially for families facing rising living costs. Women, who make up most single parents and most primary carers, are most affected by low payment levels. Families with infants experience particularly high poverty rates, which impacts parental wellbeing and child development.

Accessibility considerations

Eligibility rules restrict access for some families who still experience financial hardship. Benefit linked criteria exclude low-income families who do not meet UK thresholds. Families with disabled members, minority ethnic households and single parents face higher barriers and higher poverty risk. High take up of the Scottish Child Payment is a strength.

Budget context

Budget allocations for family payments have increased in line with inflation, but remain insufficient to meet the scale of poverty experienced by families with young children. Without changes to UK wide benefit rules or increased investment in devolved payments, significant limitations remain in the ability of cash transfers to reduce poverty and support parental wellbeing.

Lived experience

“I accessed a foodbank a couple of years ago, but the Scottish Child Payment being introduced helped me to provide food myself.”

Parent quoted in Aberdeen Gender, Inequality and Poverty

Overall interpretation

Targeted cash transfers play an important role in supporting parents on low incomes, but they do not fully address the financial pressures faced by families or the high rates of child poverty in Scotland. Many women, especially single mothers and mothers of infants, continue to experience financial hardship. Without wider structural changes to benefit rules, employment conditions and childcare accessibility, cash transfers alone cannot deliver transformational change.