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Poverty-related stigma in Scotland explored through CPG report

  • Area of Work: The ALLIANCE
  • Type: News Item
  • Published: 27th February 2023
Graphic image of a birds eye view of a neatly arranged desk with an ALLIANCE laptop, research paper, stationary, mobile phone and a coffee.

The Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group (CPG) on Poverty report highlights impacts on wellbeing, education, and access to support.

In January 2022, the CPG on Poverty launched an inquiry into poverty-related stigma, aiming to explore what was causing that stigma, how it was impacting people, and possible solutions. The ALLIANCE submitted a response to the inquiry (available here), noting in particular the “skivers versus strivers” narrative which stigmatises people receiving social security payments, whilst emphasising progress made in the devolved social security system being recognised as a human right. Our response is noted throughout the final report.

The final report from the CPG’s inquiry (available here), published on 27 February 2023, illustrates the deep roots of poverty-related stigma in Scotland. This stigma is felt broadly across all low-income communities, and can overlap with other forms of discrimination such as against black and minority ethnic people, disabled people and women. Negative views of people living in poverty are known to have been used as the reasons to pursue policies such as the UK Government’s welfare reforms which have deepened poverty by providing lower levels of support and to tighter eligibility criteria.

Recommendations made in the report to tackle poverty-related stigma include:

  • Investing in benefit uptake programmes
  • A focus on dignity, respect and human rights in service delivery
  • Holding politicians to account for their views and policies
  • Making space for the voice of lived experience to be heard

The CPG on Poverty in the Scottish Parliament is a forum for exploring the drivers of and solutions to poverty in Scotland. It acts to connect MSPs with organisations working to tackle poverty, as well as with people living on low incomes across Scotland, in order to better inform anti-poverty policymaking and contribute to the ending of poverty in Scotland. You can find out more about the CPG on the Scottish Parliament website.

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