Child poverty continues to be a key priority for local government. Despite ongoing challenges, local authorities remain firmly committed to our shared goal under the Verity House Agreement: tackling poverty — particularly child poverty — and delivering vital services and support to children and families in need.

Commenting, Councillor Tony Buchanan, COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People, said:

“On Challenge Poverty Week, I would like to take this opportunity to thank colleagues across local government for the vital work they do every day to support our children - it is important to recognise their dedication.

"Child poverty is a cross-cutting issue that pervades across all council areas with currently around one in four children living in poverty in Scotland. I would like to highlight some of the important work undertaken across local authorities in Scotland to tackle child poverty.

"Pressure on core council budgets, as well as increased ringfencing and directed funding, has an impact on the local services, activities and interventions that can be delivered to tackle child poverty.

"Despite this, local authorities continue to provide a range of key services to combat child poverty including delivering early learning and childcare, free school meals, support with cost of the school day, school clothing grant, administer education maintenance allowance, provide youth work, homelessness services, employability support, economic development, money advice and income maximisation to support the most vulnerable in our communities.

"However, more could be achieved with adequate and sustainable funding, and the flexibility to make local decisions based on local needs and circumstances.

"A key factor in tackling child poverty is adopting strong partnership approaches to service delivery, which many local authorities are successfully implementing. With both the Scottish Government and Local Government facing unprecedented financial pressures, it is now essential to prioritise limited resources. Shared priorities must guide all spending decisions to ensure the greatest impact.

"It is COSLA’s view a holistic approach needs to be taken to ensure that all opportunities are taken at both a national and local level across all areas that influence and have an impact on child poverty including but not limited to transport, housing, employment, education, and healthcare.

"A holistic approach must be person centred and utilise the lived experiences of local families, particularly those in priority groups, to overcome barriers and address specific challenges faced by those families within their community context. This requires adequate funding for local authorities, who are best placed to provide local services for their local contexts.”

Challenge Poverty Week 2025 runs from Monday 6th - Sunday 12th October with events taking place across Scotland. Find out more from The Poverty Alliance here.

6th October 2025