Scotland
Children in low-income households
Key points
- The proportion of children living in low-income households (using the low-income threshold of the 60% of median income after deducting housing costs) has been falling, from an average of 32% of all children in the years 1994/95 to 1996/97 to an average of 25% in the years 2004/05 to 2006/07.
- Nevertheless, children remain much more likely to live in low-income households than adults.
- Around 250,000 children now live in low-income households.
- Almost half of all people in lone parent families are in low income. This is two-and-a-half times the rate for couples with children.
- Almost half of all the children in low-income households are in lone parent families.
- An child's risk of low income varies greatly depending on how much paid work the family does. However, unless all adults in the family are working (and at least one of them full time), the risks of being in low income are still substantial: 80% for unemployed families, 70% for other workless families; and 25% for those where the adults are part-working.
- Almost half of all the children in low-income households live in families where at least one of the adults is in paid work.
- The proportion of children who are in low-income households in Scotland is similar to that in the East and South East of England and lower than that elsewhere in Great Britain
- The recent fall in the proportion of children in low-income households Scotland is greater than in some parts of Great Britain (e.g. London, South East and Midlands) but similar to some other parts (e.g. North East, North West and Wales).
Graph 1: Over time
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Graph 2: By family type
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Graph 3: By work status
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Graph 4: Shares
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Graph 5: Compared to Great Britain
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Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the risk of a child being in a low-income household. For comparison purposes, the equivalent data for Great Britain as a whole is also shown.
The second graph shows the risks of being in low income for people in different family types. Note that a couple (and therefore both of this adults) is classified as a pensioner couple if either of the adults is of pensionable age.
The third graph shows the risk of a child being in a low-income household, with the data shown separately for the following family work statuses: all working (single or couple, with one in full-time work and the other - if applicable - in full-time or part-time work); part working (couples where one is working and the other is not plus singles or couples where no one is working full-time but one or more are working part-time); workless - unemployed (head or spouse unemployed) and workless - economically inactive (includes long-term sick/disabled and lone parents). The self-employed and workless families aged 60 and over are excluded from the analysis. Because the UK Government's child poverty target uses a 1998/99 baseline, the comparison over time is made against the years 1997/98 to 1999/00 rather than the usual 'decade earlier'.
The fourth graph shows a breakdown of the children who are in low-income households by family type and work status (workless or someone in paid work).
The fifth graph shows how the risk of children being in low-income households in Scotland compares with the English regions and Wales, with the data shown separately for 1997/98 to 1999/00 and 2004/05 to 2006/07. The 1997/98 to 1999/00 period has been chosen because the UK Government's child poverty target uses a 1998/99 baseline.
The data source for all the graphs is Households Below Average Income, based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS). A child is defined as an individual who is either under 16 or is an unmarried 16- to 18-year-old on a course up to and including A level standard (or Highers in Scotland). Income is disposable household income after deducting housing costs and the low-income threshold is the same as that used elsewhere, namely 60% of contemporary median household income. All data is equivalised (adjusted) to account for differences in household size and composition. The self-employed are included in the statistics. Note that in 2007 DWP made some technical changes to how it adjusted household income for household composition (including retrospective changes) and, as a result, the data is slightly different than previously published figures. The averaging over three-year periods has been done to improve statistical reliability.
Overall adequacy of the indicator: high. The FRS is a well-established annual government survey, designed to be representative of the population as a whole. Note, however, that coverage does not extend beyond the Caledonian Canal.
External links
- See the HM Revenue & Customs site on tax credits and child benefit.
- See the Scottish Poverty Information Unit.