One in five children in Scotland living in poverty, JRF finds

One in five children in Scotland are living in poverty, a report published today by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found.

Despite progress in the earlier part of the past decade in reducing child poverty – reductions were greater in Scotland than in other parts of the UK – levels have stalled since 2004-5 and are now fairly similar to the rest of the UK, says the foundation.

The report calls for the Scottish government to consider how public sector employers can tackle poverty among their employees.

It also urges the government to encourage employers to create more flexible jobs that allow parents to combine work and care responsibilities, increase access to affordable childcare, and provide support and advice to help parents remain in work.

Commenting on the report, Martin Crewe, director of Barnardo’s Scotland said that spending on early years services in the poorest areas would help tackle child poverty.

More information

Full text of report

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