Coronavirus (COVID-19) support in low income households: evaluation

25 Feb 2022 03:52 PM

Qualitative research evaluating a range of policies and support that were delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research looks at how this support impacted on the finances and wellbeing of low income households.

This report presents the findings from qualitative research exploring the lived experiences of low income households, and in particular families with children, during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores how the range of support available impacted on households’ finances and wellbeing.

The main focus was on gathering the experiences of families in the following six priority groups most at risk of being in child poverty:

• lone parents
• families with a baby aged under 1
• families with three or more children
• families with a disabled family member
• young mothers (aged under 25)
• minority ethnic families

The study also included the following low income households:

• families on low income but above the threshold for relative poverty
• single young adults (under 30) with no children but in relative poverty
• young couples (under 30) with no children but in relative poverty

The research explores the impact of the range of additional financial and in-kind support funded by the Scottish Government and delivered through local authorities, Social Security Scotland and the third sector designed to assist people to manage the challenges experienced over the course of the pandemic.

Based on participants’ views, the research aimed to draw conclusions on whether the system has been working well for parents and other adults on low income and where they have experienced problems.

The findings from this study will feed into the development of the next Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan (2022-26) and the design and delivery of other support plans for low income families and households.

Evaluation of COVID Support in Low Income Households 87 page PDF 696.3 kB