How Has Poverty Impacted Scotland in the Wake of Covid-19?

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In Scotland, there is a sense of national pride surrounding our social conscience and many people believe they live in a country where the ‘common good’ is a shared narrative. Despite this, poverty is on the rise and an increasing number of Scots face the harsh reality of financial hardship. Poverty is an area that challenges a nations sense of self, it has been at the heart of political debate for decades with almost no substantial improvements and this has only been compounded by the effects of Covid-19 on our society.

The SNP have been in power in Scotland since 2007 and have often made addressing poverty a priority in their manifestos. In 2017, the SNP-led Scottish government introduced plans for a new Scottish Social Security Agency; this allows the Scottish government to take control of certain areas of welfare and top-up benefits still reserved by Westminster. Discussing this legislation Jeane Freeman, who was Scotland’s social security minister at the time, said:

“We want to ensure that legislatively this commitment is built in – no individual will be required by government to undergo health assessment by the private sector.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, food poverty has risen in Scotland – UK-wide research by the Trussell Trust indicated that there would be a 61 per cent increase in food parcel usage from the months of October to December 2020. Speaking about food poverty in Scotland, first minister, Nicola Sturgeon said:

“We invested over £1.4bn in support for low-income households in 2018-19, including over £100m mitigating the worst impacts of the welfare cuts. Our £3.5m Fair Food Fund is supporting communities to respond to food insecurity in a way that promotes dignity and helps to move away from charitable food aid as a primary response.” Although these are welcomed steps in the right direction, there are far too many families whose hardships are not being covered under the Scottish governments support scheme – 68 per cent of children living in poverty come from households with employment.

Opposition parties in Scotland have been at the forefront of criticising the SNP’s attempts to deal with poverty. Elaine Smith, former MSP for Scottish Labour, feels that food poverty in particular has been exacerbated by the pandemic. She said:

“The benefit system, low wages, zero-hours contracts. All of those were having a huge effect and that affect is on health and wellbeing, it’s on the environment… those issues give people a difficulty being able to live comfortably.”

Scottish Labour focused their 2021 campaign on a ‘National Recovery’, they promised to double the child benefit payment in Scotland to £20 per week. Scottish Labour Leader, Anas Sarwar, discussed the plan, he said:

"If we focus on making the next Scottish Parliament a Covid recovery parliament, and don’t return to the old politics of division, we can immediately lift as many as 60,000 children out of poverty and work towards ending the scandal of child poverty once and for all.”

Additionally, the Scottish Liberal Democrats also promised in their 2021 manifesto to dent child poverty by doubling the child benefit in Scotland as well as working to “Close the gap between the end of paid parental leave and the start of free childcare provision. It will finally give parents more choice about when they return to work and unlock their untapped potential for our economy.”

The Scottish Greens have drawn attention to the Scottish government’s handling of poverty, Patrick Harvie MSP, Co-Leader of the Scottish Green Party, said:

“The first minister needs to show more ambition to support the household incomes of those in most need, whether that means rent controls, expanding free public transport and school meals, investing to cut energy bills, reconsidering its position on public sector pay, or providing an uplift on the Scottish Child Payment.”

In Scotland, there are many organisations and charities with the shared mission of ending poverty. The Poverty use their influence to affect policy, build an anti-poverty movement as well as conduct research to find evidence of the problems caused by wealth inequality. Wealth inequality will continue to rise without real change – an analysis from the Resolution Foundation indicated child poverty is on a trajectory to increase to 29 per cent by 2023-24. Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said:

“Something we’re focused on at the moment is the Scottish child payment, and how by building on that, the Scottish government could begin the introduction of a ‘minimum income’ which would help to tackle poverty as well as decrease income disparity.

“The best way for the government to tackle poverty is through taxation. Unfortunately, at the moment, Scotland’s government doesn’t control taxation in its entirety. That being said, there are changes we can make. For instance, a radical reform of council tax would allow the government an alternative way of collecting wealth tied up in property.”

What can clearly be established is that ‘government’ in all its forms has failed to address the structural problems of wealth inequality that leave many Scots adrift on the economic margins, living precarious lifestyles that often damage both mental and physical wellbeing - this has clearly been exacerbated in a post Covid world. All governments have struggled to navigate the virus; however, the Scottish government seems to sustain its pre-covid hopes that civil society and charitable causes will somehow help fill the gaps, hence the shocking increase in food bank usage during the current party’s reign, however, these food banks are a testament to failure not a sign of hope even if providers good intentions are rooted in solidarity and a commitment to the common good.