Poverty is a failure of human rights

Poverty and inequality are creating a human rights crisis in the UK

Lydia MurphyDevelopment Officer, Poverty Alliance In March, organisations from Scotland went to Geneva, giving evidence to as the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights about the UK’s human rights record. Their reports – and reports from other civil society organisations across the country– show that there is a human rights crisis in the … Read more

Humza Yousaf receiving the Great Seal of Scotland after taking the oath as First Minister.

Action on the injustice of poverty is new FM’s defining mission

Peter KellyDirector, The Poverty Alliance With the contest for Scotland’s new First Minister over, attention now turns to the priorities of our new government. Our hope is that Humza Yousaf will turn Scotland’s shared values of justice and compassion into concrete action to tackle the ongoing injustice of poverty. During the campaign to become SNP … Read more

A stock image showing the hands of an older man counting coins from his wallet.

Why we need a pensioner poverty strategy for Scotland

Debbie HorneScotland Policy and Public Affairs ManagerIndependent Age At Independent Age we believe no one should face poverty in later life. But currently too many older people in Scotland face the daily reality of just that, with the number of pensioners living in poverty now 150,000 – up 25% since 2012. This statistic torpedoes the … Read more

An image of two children, one helping the other has a temperature

Scotland’s poorest children suffer the most

Heather WilsonProgramme and Policy Officer The Health Foundation Without a doubt Scotland’s poorest children are suffering the most. We know this from the Health Foundation’s recently launched report ‘‘Leave no one behind: The state of health and health inequalities in Scotland’ was the culmination of a multi-stranded review undertaken over the past 12 months, focusing … Read more

A child playing with building blocks.

New Challenges: Working towards better experiences of child maintenance

Fiona McHardy Research & Information Manager Click here to read our report! When we think about children and young people’s needs, we often think about parents and caregivers as the central people in their lives. We don’t immediately consider the structures that support them, but these are critical to the success of those parenting and … Read more

People studying at college or university.

Breaking the barriers to higher education for asylum seekers

As part of our Rights in Action project, we worked with community researchers to explore how they could use their human rights to push for change. In this guest blog, one of the researchers talks about breaking barriers that asylum seekers and refugees face when it comes to getting access to higher education in Scotland. … Read more

A woman cycling through a Scottish town.

People see cycling as a way to save money during the cost-of-living crisis

Mark McIntyre, Media & Communications Officer, Cycling Scotland Read Cycling Scotland’s full 2022 Cycling Attitudes & Behaviours research In early December, Cycling Scotland released our annual Attitudes and Behaviours Towards Cycling in Scotland Report 2022. Now in its fourth wave, this annual research with more than 1,000 people across Scotland, gives us a regular snapshot … Read more

Lydia Murphy of the Poverty Alliance hosing a Rights In Action workshop.

Governments must keep their human rights promises

Lydia MurphyDevelopment Officer, Poverty Alliance At the Poverty Alliance, we believe that poverty is a denial of fundamental human rights. Our Rights in Action project aims to raise awareness of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and how they can be used as a tool to fight against poverty. Economic, social and cultural rights are those … Read more

Poverty and Inequality Commission Logo

Urgent action needed to help households weather the cost-of-living storm

by Bill Scott, Chair, Poverty and Inequality Commission As Poverty Alliance members well know the UK is currently facing a cost of living crisis that threatens the health and wellbeing of the population. The Poverty & Inequality Commission believes that this crisis needs an emergency response of the same scale and urgency as the COVID-19 … Read more

Guest blog – Sustrans Scotland offers support for active travel in marginalised communities

Sustrans Scotland has launched a support service to help third sector organisations encourage walking, wheeling and cycling in marginalised communities The benefits of walking and cycling for more everyday journeys are well documented – a 2017 study showed that regularly cycling to work reduced the incidence of cancer by 45% and heart disease by 46%.  However, … Read more

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