As part of Challenge Poverty Week, our Communications Officer, Eddie, sat down with our Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Lisa, to discuss what needs to change to tackle poverty in Scotland and to explore findings from our latest research, Beyond the Budget.
Eddie: Lisa, thanks for joining me. To start, can you tell us what Beyond the Budget is, and why is it important to mention during Challenge Poverty Week?
Lisa: Absolutely. Beyond the Budget is our latest piece of research into the realities facing families and young people we support. We carried out a survey and spoke with our Youth Inspire Group towards the end of 2024. The aim was to hear directly from them about how the cost-of-living crisis is impacting their day-to-day lives. Sadly, the findings are as you’d expect. Hard to read. What makes it hard is that it is avoidable.
Eddie: What did young people and their families tell us?
Lisa: One parent told us, “I can’t see anything getting better.” Another said, “We live from day to day.” These voices highlight just how much pressure families are under.
From the survey results, we learned that: 64% said their household finances worsened in the last year. 76% struggled to pay energy bills. 69% struggled to afford food. 78% reported their family’s mental health has deteriorated.
Families are being forced into impossible choices between heating their homes and putting food on the table. That’s simply not acceptable. We have a collective ability and moral responsibility to advocate for changes that we know are possible.
Eddie: The rhetoric is always “there isn’t enough cash”, but what impact is this having beyond finances?
Lisa: The impact goes well beyond money. Mental health is unavoidably intertwined in our findings. When parents and young people are under constant stress about affording the basics, it has a knock-on effect on wellbeing, education, and relationships. Families also told us they often feel judged or ignored because of their financial circumstances – a cruel shame to add to existing strain.
Eddie: What changes are we calling for?
Lisa: We’re asking both the Scottish and UK Governments to act urgently. It is not just the right thing to do, but we know money spent now saves the government in the long run. That is on top of offering people dignity in the here and now.
Our demands include the obvious: funding children and young people’s mental health services, recognising the link between poverty and wellbeing.
But on a more practical level, increasing the Scottish Child Payment to £50 per week and ending the two-child benefit cap, writing off public sector debt for low-income families, and making energy affordable.
Eddie: And looking ahead, how will includem keep amplifying these voices?
Lisa: With the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections approaching, we’ll be speaking to all political parties to make sure the voices of young people and families are front and centre in their plans. Our job is to ensure decision-makers don’t just hear these stories, but like many of our allies in the field, put pressure on decision makers to act on them.
Eddie: Finally, what’s the one message you’d like people to take from Beyond the Budget during Challenge Poverty Week?
Lisa: Tackling child poverty is rightly the First Minister’s number one priority, described as Scotland’s “national mission” and it is the right thing to do, for all children. If we work together across government, local authorities, and the third sector, we can make those changes happen. By listening to families and acting on what they tell us, we can meet the statutory child poverty targets by 2030 – and ensure no child in Scotland grows up hungry, cold, or left behind.
To find out more information about poverty in Scotland, you can read Beyond the Budget here.
