Poverty in Scotland 2024
This year our report asks how effective social security is at reducing poverty and advancing equality in Scotland.
Prior to joining JRF, Deborah worked as a policy adviser in the National Lottery Community Fund in Scotland, shaping their biggest investments in children, young people and families. Before that, she held a variety of policy and development roles in the third sector, including leading the formal merger of advice agencies in Edinburgh and establishing a successful web based recruitment business for SCVO. Deborah is interested in maximising the contribution housing (and related areas) can make to reducing poverty and boosting well-being in Scotland.
Email: deborah.hay@jrf.org.uk
Twitter: @HayDeborah
This year our report asks how effective social security is at reducing poverty and advancing equality in Scotland.
This year’s State of the Nation report looks in detail at whether work is working for people in Scotland.
The majority of people migrating to the UK come to work and study and have no safety net. Both our immigration and asylum systems make people destitute by design and need urgent reform.
This year’s Poverty in Scotland paints a bleak picture of a society in crisis. It demands action from all tiers of government to avert the worst of this crisis, and time is short.
Without urgent action to release poverty’s grip, The Scottish Government is on course to significantly miss the child poverty targets.
There is strong public support for a just approach to repaying COVID debt, with those struggling being asked to repay only what they can afford, and governments and creditors stepping in to help.
Work, social security and housing costs are vital to solving poverty in Scotland, as the coronavirus storm is sweeping many people into poverty and others deeper into poverty.
Last week the Scottish Government announced a £10 million Tenant Hardship Loan Fund, available from November. But will it help people under pressure and struggling to pay their rent?
As we emerge from lockdown, we need to act to prevent and reduce poverty as the economic storm clouds gather this autumn.