Photo showing a road though a Scottish village with a fee buildings, streetlights, a bus stop sign and hills in a background, lit with autumn sunlight
Issues of poverty and disadvantage are a policy focus in Scotland but national poverty policies tend not to recognise the extent and specific characteristics of rural poverty.

Rural poverty: under the radar?

Quote saying "you have to appear to be completely dependent on someone…If you are disabled and you say you can cook and you can manage reasonably well on your own, then they would invariably say, ‘well you don’t need PIP’."
Changes to social security over the past decade have – in the vast majority of cases – reduced the financial security of disabled people, leaving many in poverty and isolation. New research by Tom Porter at the University of East Anglia, Charlotte Pearson and Nick Watson at the University of Glasgow, examines the lived experience of these changes for disabled people in the UK.

Disability and social insecurity: Exploring the impact of benefit changes ...

Graphic showing Overall Poverty in Scotland 1995 - 2018
Policy Scotland has worked with staff members in the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament Information Centre to create a set of briefing materials that detail poverty trends in Scotland since 1995 paired with key policy changes from the UK and Scottish Governments.

Poverty Trends in Scotland 1995-2018 and Policy Change: new work ...

Cover of the report Housing Wealth Inequality In Scotland with the Poverty and Inequality Commission logo
rofessor Duncan Maclennan from Policy Scotland has contributed to a new report on housing wealth inequality that has informed the work of the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Commission.

Housing wealth inequality in Scotland

Two children - a boy, and a girl with her back to the camera - doing homework with pens and paper at a dining room table.
Two new publications from Policy Scotland's Director Chris Chapman focus on the role of research and researchers in changing education systems to improve equity and opportunity for learners.

Education systems: research and change

White cardboard box with baby books and clothes inside
Policy Scotland has created a easy-to-access collection of its research and resources focused on tackling child poverty including reports on the Child Poverty Strategy and local contributions to tackling poverty and inequality in Scotland, and analysis of models of scenarios and policies to reduce child poverty.

Poverty research and evidence from Policy Scotland

Logo of the UPP Foundation
A public lecture by Professor John Goddard OBE which explored the challenge of building bridges between place, higher education and research and innovation policy.

The Civic University and the City

Logo of the Shaping Futures project incorporating the letters SF and numbers 21
The summary report from the Shaping Futures project is now published, following a launch in Australia. The report contains ten principles for housing policy and tax reform intended to provide a coherent framework for reforming housing policies.

Changing the Housing Story – report published

Back of the audience looking towards the panel speakers
The Human Rights Research Students’ Conference, A human rights postgraduate researcher community: enhancing knowledge exchange, engagement & employability, presented 15 papers in five panel sessions. Held at the University of Glasgow in November 2017.

Human Rights Research Students’ Conference – report

Comment piece by Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice Chancellor University of Glasgow, in which he argues for a People's Vote on Brexit.

Blog: Brexit – what now?

The European Union flag with the Union Jack showing through it
As the latest Brexit debate continues at Westminster, Policy Scotland offers access to a series of long-form reflections that provide deeper perspectives on the process of the UK leaving the European Union.

Brexit perspectives: Policy Scotland lectures