Analysis of Year 6 Local Child Poverty Action Reports (LCPARs) has shown an ever more strategic, preventative and joined-up approach to reporting.
From stronger partnerships to more targeted actions, there has been a clear shift toward long-term thinking and collaboration, according to evaluation of the reports. The analysis also underscores the need for continual improvement and for the role of levers such as housing, planning and economic development in tackling poverty to be more widely recognised.
Under the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017, local authorities and health boards in Scotland must publish annual LCPARs highlighting what they have done - and what they plan to do in the coming financial year - to contribute to the national 2030 child poverty reduction targets.
The Improvement Service, Public Health Scotland, the Scottish Government and the Poverty Alliance read these reports and used an online survey to both identify trends in local approaches to tackling child poverty and to highlight interesting practice. They also used this analysis to inform feedback to local areas on their annual reports.
A summary of learning from Year 6 (2023-24) reports has been published, which covers local approaches to local child poverty reporting and highlights examples of the actions that are being taken to address child poverty at local level.
Find out more about the Improvement Service’s support for tackling child poverty in Scotland.