Poverty and Children's Access to Services and Social Participation

This briefing paper summarises evidence in the research and policy literature on inequalities surrounding access to services and social participation for children and young people living in poverty in Scotland. The related policy and practice implications for services’ access and societal participation are also outlined. In the poverty and inequalities context, a mix of policy interventions aimed at rebalancing power at all levels are more likely to be effective to changing the status quo. Rather than searching for a single ‘silver bullet’, policy should target the multiple dimensions of poverty and inequality and their intersections as experienced by young people.