Commentary on Sections Section 6 – Persistent poverty
17.Section 6 provides that a child falls within the section (persistent poverty) in a financial year if the child lived in a household in Scotland in the current calendar year and each of the 3 previous calendar years (see the definition of “survey years” in subsection (2)) and has also lived, in at least three of those survey years, in a household whose net income for the year was less than 60% of the median equivalised net household income for the survey year in question.
18.The persistent poverty target is a recognition that living in poverty for an extended period of time is likely to be more damaging than living in poverty for brief periods. This target also ensures that the set of child poverty targets are not a snapshot of income at one time only.