Persistent Poverty Not Changed

1st April 2022

Between 2016 and 2020, one tenth of people in Scotland were in persistent poverty after housing costs. Persistent poverty identifies individuals who live in relative poverty (have a household income of less than 60% of the UK median) for at least three years out of the last four.

Persistent poverty rates were similar for children and working-age adults (10%) and pensioners (11%). Over time, persistent poverty rates have been fairly stable for all age groups, except for children in the most recent period.

Persistent child poverty saw a relatively large drop compared to previous estimates, from 15% to 10%. This observed fall should be interpreted with caution as persistent poverty estimates do tend to fluctuate. So not all of this decrease is likely to reflect real change and will be due to a range of factors. Some low income households will have benefitted from increased financial support during the pandemic. At the same time, reduced earnings and job losses may have resulted in a lower median income, leading to a fall in the poverty line, and a drop in the relative poverty rate.

Not everyone in poverty is in persistent poverty: More than a third of people in poverty move out of poverty each year. At the same time, a similar number of people who were not in poverty before enter poverty each year.

The persistent poverty report usually goes alongside the main poverty statistics publication Poverty and Income Inequality in Scotland. This will not be published this year due to the disrupted data collection during COVID-19 restrictions. An analytical report will be published instead to explain the limitations of the most recent data. Users should note that the latest reliable figures are those previously published.

These figures are produced in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.