Following the SNP’s victory in the 2026 Scottish elections, the key question is what comes next. While the party has built strong foundations in tackling poverty, a gap remains between policy ambition and the everyday experiences of many households across Scotland. Tackling poverty remains one of the defining challenges for the next government. The targets to reduce child poverty have been a significant priority for the SNP, often described as its ‘defining mission’, and they have set legal targets to reduce child poverty to 10% by 2030. An analysis of party manifestos by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) concluded: “Nearly a decade on from a cross-party vote which enshrined child poverty reduction targets in law, tackling poverty in Scotland is still a uniting moral, social and economic prerogative across the political spectrum”. And yet, despite this consensus, interim child poverty targets have been missed.
Over the past decade, in a bid to reduce poverty, policymakers have placed increasing emphasis on social security and universal policies — most notably through flagship measures like the Scottish Child Payment (SCP). Earlier this year the Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) forecast a bleak outlook for Scotland’s Social Security bill which is expected to increase to £9.5 billion by 2030. These interventions provide important support to low-income households, but broader systemic change is still needed to significantly reduce poverty and the social security bill. A challenge for the newly elected Scottish Government will be to focus on systemic change. Policy is frequently developed and implemented in siloes, with departments focusing on specific remits without fully considering the cumulative impact of decisions across policy areas. This siloed approach can undermine efforts to tackle poverty, which is inherently multidimensional. For individuals and households, experiences of poverty are shaped by the interaction of income, housing, health, education, and access to services. When policy responses fail to account for these interdependencies, gaps and inconsistencies can emerge.
Our project “The State of Poverty”, funded by the Robertson Trust, underscores the scale of the governance challenges ahead for the next government in tackling poverty. Making real progress on poverty requires a clear commitment to working collaboratively across and within government(s), public services, and communities. The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2026-2031 recognises the importance of a “whole system” approach by championing wrap around support for families and a collaborative delivery plan to support transformation. To be effective the next government will need to adopt new ways of working—moving beyond siloed policymaking and fragmented budget decisions towards a more coordinated and collaborative approach. Responsibility is spread across different levels of government—childcare is devolved to Scotland, Universal Credit is set by the UK Government, and local services by councils — making it important to understand how all these policy areas and decisions interact.
These challenges are often framed in terms of coordination across different levels of government. Given the division of powers between the Scottish and UK Governments, it can be challenging to address policy divergence across the UK. The new Scottish Government should focus on strengthening better relations with local government. On the one hand, effective action on poverty depends on locally informed, responsive service delivery. On the other, central control over resources and priorities can limit the scope for local innovation and adaptation. Addressing poverty therefore requires not only strong partnership working, but also careful consideration of how power and responsibility are balanced across different levels of government. However, governance challenges are not confined to intergovernmental relations, they are also evident within the structures of government itself. Portfolios and departments often operate in isolation, concentrating on their own policy areas without fully engaging with how these intersect with broader issues.
So, what should the incoming government do to reduce poverty and meet the 2030 child poverty targets? The Scottish Government should continue to build upon their whole-system approach, which is anchored in a formal, cross-government “child poverty mission”. In practice this could mean embedding shared priorities across portfolios such as housing, education, childcare, employability, and social security. Using data, lived experience, and citizen-centred policymaking to track how policies interact at household level, ensuring that interventions reflect the real, interconnected nature of poverty.
Reducing poverty in Scotland requires a more collaborative and balanced partnership between the Scottish Government and local authorities. Working more effectively together co-designing policies, giving greater flexibility over how funding is used locally, and establishing shared accountability for outcomes such as child poverty reduction. By combining policy direction with local insight and delivery capacity, this partnership can enable more joined-up, responsive, and effective action on poverty.
