A quiet revolution is unfolding in Scotland and at its heart are thousands of children no longer growing up in poverty.
According to a new report by The Big Issue, 21,000 children have been lifted out of relative poverty in Scotland since 2017, that’s a 12 percent drop in child poverty levels over eight years.
It’s a rare piece of hopeful news in a UK-wide picture that remains deeply troubling.
While Scotland has been making steady, significant progress, child poverty in England and Wales has risen sharply, an additional 320,000 children are now living in poverty south of the border, a figure Lord John Bird, founder of The Big Issue, has called “pernicious.”
In stark contrast, the Scottish Government’s policies are being credited with having a transformative impact on children’s lives.
The Scottish Child Payment, expanded free school meals, and the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap have all been central to the shift.
First Minister John Swinney has made the eradication of child poverty his defining mission.
The latest figures suggest that, despite broader economic challenges, that mission is making a meaningful difference.
Collette Stevenson MSP welcomed the findings, pointing to Scotland’s “radically different approach” from the rest of the UK.
“The SNP government in Scotland has taken a radically different approach to tackling child poverty, and that approach is working,” she said.
“While the Labour Party implements cuts and maintains the disgraceful two-child cap, this SNP government is transforming lives with the Scottish Child Payment and lifting 20,000 children out of poverty by scrapping Labour’s two-child cap.”
She also warned that Westminster decisions continue to undermine progress being made in Scotland.
“Pressure is building on Scottish Labour MPs ahead of next week’s vote on Labour’s welfare reforms, which are expected to push 50,000 more kids into poverty,” she added.
Campaigners have long argued that social security decisions made at UK level limit what Holyrood can achieve, despite widespread support in Scotland for more progressive welfare policies.
The new report has reignited calls for greater powers for Scotland, with some voices saying that only full independence can unlock the full range of tools needed to end poverty for good.
For now, though, the evidence is clear.
Scotland is going in a different direction and the results are changing lives.
It is a rare moment when public policy becomes something more than a headline.
For thousands of families, it’s the difference between surviving and living.
