Welsh families missing out on support worth thousands compared with Scotland, new research shows

Hayley Jones

A family with three children in Scotland can receive more than £4,000 a year in support that is not available to an otherwise identical family in Wales, according to new research highlighting growing differences in welfare provision across the UK.

The findings, presented at a Resolution Foundation conference in London, come as official statistics show that child poverty rates in Wales remain significantly higher than in Scotland.

Researchers unveiled The State of the Nations report, part of the Safety Nets project, which examines how social security systems have evolved since devolution.

While welfare is often still viewed as a UK-wide system, the report argues that support available to families increasingly depends on where they live.

At the centre of the gap is the Scottish Child Payment, introduced by the Scottish Government as part of efforts to tackle child poverty.

The payment, worth more than £28 a week for each eligible child, provides more than £4,000 a year to a family with three children.

Scottish families may also qualify for pregnancy and baby payments, food support schemes and other grants aimed at supporting children during their early years.

No equivalent child payment currently exists in Wales.

The difference in support is reflected in child poverty rates.

Latest official figures show that 32% of children in Wales are living in relative poverty after housing costs, compared with 21% in Scotland. Despite Scotland having a significantly larger population than Wales, it is estimated to have fewer children living in poverty overall.

The Scottish Government estimates that devolved anti-poverty measures are keeping around 70,000 children out of relative poverty, including approximately 40,000 through the Scottish Child Payment alone.

Disadvantage

Dr Steffan Evans of the Bevan Foundation said children and families in Wales were already at a disadvantage compared with their counterparts in Scotland.

He said: “Children and families in Wales are already worse off than their counterparts in Scotland given that there is no Welsh equivalent to the Scottish Child Payment. This places children in Wales at greater risk of living in poverty, impacting both their lives today and long into the future.

“If Scotland and Northern Ireland use their greater devolved powers to provide greater welfare support, this risk will only increase, making it more likely that families in Wales will be forced to choose between heating and eating than families in Scotland or Northern Ireland.”

Devolved powers

The report argues that devolved governments are increasingly using their powers to create different social security systems, resulting in growing differences in the support available to families across the UK.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have both introduced measures designed to supplement parts of the UK welfare system and provide additional support to low-income households. Wales, by contrast, has far fewer powers over social security and remains more dependent on Westminster-controlled benefits.

Researchers argue that the result is a system in which a family’s entitlement to support is increasingly determined not only by its circumstances but also by where it lives.

‘Taking action’

Responding to the findings, the Welsh Government said it was already taking action to tackle child poverty and support families struggling with the cost of living.

A spokesperson said: “We are providing new leadership to deliver decisive change on the real priorities of the people of Wales.

“This includes tackling child poverty and helping families with the cost of living through the rollout of the most generous childcare offer anywhere in the UK, developing the Cynnal pilot payment of £10 a week for low-income families with young children, and a new tackling child poverty plan with clear targets.

“As we make the case for the devolution of powers over welfare, we will work to improve the existing Welsh Benefits System, making it simpler for every eligible household to receive the support they are entitled to.”

Divergence

For families struggling with rising living costs, the differences in support can have a significant impact on household finances.

Around 300,000 children in Wales are estimated to be living in relative poverty, while food banks continue to report high levels of demand from families struggling with the cost of living.

Researchers say social security plays an increasingly important role in shaping children’s life chances, influencing health, educational attainment, housing stability and long-term financial security.

The findings are likely to add to debate over whether Wales has sufficient powers to tackle poverty effectively and whether greater control over welfare could help narrow the gap with other parts of the UK.

Plaid Cymru and a number of anti-poverty organisations have previously called for a Welsh equivalent of the Scottish Child Payment, arguing that existing support schemes do not go far enough to reduce child poverty.

The report concludes that social security systems across the UK are becoming increasingly divergent. The growing gap in support is mirrored by a substantial difference in child poverty rates, raising fresh questions about whether Wales has the powers and resources needed to match the anti-poverty measures being pursued elsewhere in the UK.