Gaps and priorities in child poverty research in Scotland

As we approach Scotland’s statutory child poverty targets due in 2030/31, there is a significant need to understand the current extent of research on child poverty in Scotland and establish gaps and priorities moving forward. This research will need to be timed to inform the next child poverty action plan, due in 2026, so that policies can be enacted and take effect to meet the statutory targets.

In this project, FAI researchers spoke to a number of key stakeholders, including:

• Researchers from academia, government, and the third sector;
• People with lived experience of poverty; and
• Policymakers.

The goal of this work is to establish gaps in current knowledge and prioritise specific areas for research over the next few years. The project outputs include an overview of what we did and what we found, as well as more details on specific areas and the general consensus around a research agenda for Scottish child poverty research.