Research: Understanding experiences of low-paid work in the hospitality sector over time

This report explores the experiences of low-paid workers in Scotland’s hospitality sector, looking to understand the structural challenges and personal experiences in their employment. Conducted over three waves of longitudinal interviews from 2022 to 2024, the Serving the Future project has captured the evolving realities of a group of hospitality workers’ lives within the context … Read more

A group of men and women at HMP Grampian, attending a roundtable event by charity Families Outside

Blog: Prison journey costs add to poverty injustice

Annie McCormack,TARP Aberdeenshire Development Officer,The Poverty Alliance Click here to find out more about Taking Action on Rural Poverty Many children and families in Scotland have to deal with both poverty, and the imprisonment of someone close to them. Some 45 per cent of all arrivals in prison come from Scotland’s 20 per cent most … Read more

Consultation response: Scottish Labour Party Policy Forum

Scotland is undoubtedly a wealthy country, so it cannot be right that one in five people in Scotland – rising to one in four children – have their life chances restricted by the preventable injustice of poverty. The Scottish Labour Party Policy Forum informs the Scottish Labour Party’s policy development process as it builds towards … Read more

Bill Harrison / Insch library and institute / CC BY-SA 2.0

Blog: Libraries are a vital support for people on low incomes

Annie McCormack, TARP Aberdeenshire Development Officer, The Poverty Alliance As part of the Taking Action on Rural Poverty project, the Poverty Alliance have been working alongside Aberdeenshire residents who live on a low income in rural parts of the shire to form a citizens panel of people who want to feed into the Council’s decision-making … Read more

Marischal Street Peterhead Aberdeenshire

Blog: TARP Aberdeenshire supports Highlands and Islands human rights report

Annie McCormack, TARP Aberdeenshire Development Officer,The Poverty Alliance Click here to read the SHRC report on human rights in the Highlands & Islands At the end of 2024, the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) released a damning report on the human rights violations happening across the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. It said: “Some of … Read more

Steelgraham, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Research: Rights to Housing and the Environment – Experiences of the Roma Community in Govanhill

The Roma communities in Govanhill, Glasgow, face significant challenges to attaining their right to adequate housing. This report – part of the Rights in Action project – presents findings from a participatory action research project by Romano Lav in partnership with the Poverty Alliance which explored Roma people’s experiences of social and private housing, awareness … Read more

A stock image of people raising their fists together to represent the fulfilment of human rights.

Briefing: Barriers to Living with Dignity – Insights from Rights in Action

Over the past two years – as part of our Rights in Action project – The Poverty Alliance has delivered 19 Know Your Rights workshops to 230 people. There were representatives from 118 Poverty Alliance member organisations as well as people with lived experience of poverty. People from across Scotland have taken part including from … Read more

A bus making its way along a single track road in Scotland. To illustrate TARP.

Report: Challenging rural poverty in Scotland

Despite Scotland’s great wealth, people in rural and island areas of the country have been hit hardest by the cost-of-living crisis. Too many people living in rural districts are held back by poverty, often facing added costs just to get by in comparison with people in urban areas. And, too often, anti-poverty policies don’t currently … Read more

Scottish Parliament MSP Offices

Briefing: The 2025-26 Scottish Government Budget

It’s time to build a fairer, greener Scotland, free from poverty. We call on the Scottish Government to deliver a just and compassionate budget that puts people first, not only utilising the additional £3.4 billion allocated by the UK Government for bold anti-poverty action, but also ambitiously uses their devolved taxation powers to generate the … Read more

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