- Inquiry overview
The Cross Party Group on Poverty is undertaking an inquiry into poverty in rural Scotland. The objective of this inquiry is to gain an increased understanding of the relationship between poverty and rurality, including exploring the causes, impacts of, and solutions to rural poverty.
We are particularly interested in exploring how people in rural Scotland experience poverty. This will include an assessment of the challenges around employment; issues relating to public services such as transport, childcare and health; and the impacts of depopulation. We will also consider the impact of the poverty premium, defined by Fair by Design as the extra cost that households on low incomes incur when purchasing the same essential goods and services as households on higher incomes.[1] The poverty premium is a dimension of poverty in all communities, but can be particularly impactful in rural parts of Scotland.
The inquiry will also make a number of recommendations for priority actions to tackle poverty in rural Scotland.
- Definition of rural
The Scottish Government define rural Scotland as “settlements with a population of less than 3,000. A settlement is defined to be a group of high-density postcodes whose combined population rounds to 500 people or more. They are separated by low density postcodes.”[2]
In applying this definition within the context of this inquiry, we will utilize the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services (RESAS) classification. This classification is regularly used within policymaking and data analysis, including by the Office for National Statistics and within Skills Development Scotland’s Regional Skills Assessments.[3]
The RESAS classification designates 15 Scottish local authorities as ‘mainly rural’ or ‘Islands and remote rural’:
- Aberdeenshire
- Angus
- Argyll and Bute
- Clackmannanshire
- Dumfries and Galloway
- East Ayrshire
- East Lothian
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Highland
- Moray
- Orkney Islands
- Perth and Kinross
- Scottish Borders
- Shetland Islands
- South Ayrshire
When undertaking this inquiry, we will also consider the differences between various rural areas, including utilizing the Scottish Government’s urban rural classification.[4] This classification makes a distinction between accessible and remote rural areas:
- Accessible rural:those with a less than 30 minute drive time to the nearest settlement with a population of 10,000 or more; and
- Remote rural:those with a greater than 30 minute drive time to the nearest settlement with a population of 10,000 or more.
- Discussion questions
- Do current measures of poverty accurately capture poverty in rural Scotland? How can we improve measurement?
- What are the causes of poverty in rural Scotland?
- How does the poverty premium function in rural areas?
- What are the challenges for tackling poverty in rural Scotland?
- What are the examples of good policy and/or practice in relation to addressing the specific dimensions of rural poverty?
- What are the priority actions for alleviating poverty in rural Scotland?
- Plan for Inquiry
The CPG on Poverty will hold four sessions to gather evidence on rural poverty. Each session will have presentations from around three stakeholders exploring rural poverty, followed by a group discussion on the evidence. Members of the CPG will also be invited to submit any relevant research or data that may assist with the development of the inquiry. The CPG will also seek to host a fifth session, connecting people experiencing poverty in rural areas with MSPs.
In their capacity as secretariat for the CPG, staff from The Poverty Alliance will write up the evidence sessions to form the basis of a report into rural poverty that will be published in early 2024.
[1] See https://fairbydesign.com/povertypremium/
[2] Scottish Government (2021) Rural Scotland – Key Facts available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/rural-scotland-key-facts-2021/
[3] Skills Development Scotland (2022) Regional Skills Assessment -Rural Scotland available at https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/49114/rsa-rural-scotland.pdf
[4] Scottish Government (2021) Rural Scotland – Key Facts available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/rural-scotland-key-facts-2021/
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