Guest blog: All Hands On Deck -Working collaboratively to tackle poverty in migrant households

Across the UK migrants are more likely to be living in poverty than those who are UK born.

Recent research, including by Migration Policy Scotland, shows that migrant families are particularly vulnerable to poverty,[i] that poverty rates for children of non-UK born parents are high (around 50%), and that the proportional difference from other children worsens where poverty is deeper.[ii]  This remains the case even when parents have lived in the UK for longer than 10 years[iii]  suggesting that the drivers of this poverty premium are systemic and not just a temporary effect of moving to a new country.

Clearly, if we are going to achieve the goal of reducing the number of children living in relative poverty in Scotland to 10% by 2030, we need to think about how we can change things for this group. Migration Policy Scotland is working in close partnership with a number of migrant-focused and migrant-led organisations to deliver our work on poverty and pioneering new approaches to making change happen in policy and practice through our policy laboratory.

Launched in 2025 as part of our project on Tackling Financial Disadvantage in Migrant Households, the policy laboratory brings together frontline staff, service managers and decision makers from migrant-focused and mainstream organisations across the third and public sectors to co-develop feasible and effective ways of making a difference to migrant households.[iv] By pooling this wide-ranging expertise, knowledge and resources, we have been able to discuss new ideas and draw on wider networks to develop and implement initiatives.

The policy laboratory began with two kickstart events themed around Person-Centred Approaches and Better Joined-Up Services, where participants discussed gaps in provision and shared examples of successful interventions. Our aim was to identify feasible, effective, and fundable means of addressing poverty in migrant households. The policy lab collaboratively developed four pathfinder initiatives, which we are excited to present at our Showcase Event on 3^rd September 2025.

One of these initiatives is a migrant-focused version of existing ‘Worrying about Money?’, Cash First Referral leaflets. Currently, much advice for households in poverty is aimed at maximising benefit uptake. Yet the rules and restrictions associated with many visa types exclude migrants from access to social security provision (through the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition). A group of policy lab participants worked together to develop a resource that answered the needs they saw on the ground, guiding migrants in a more targeted way to the support, advice and assistance which is available to them.

The group drew on their experience and expertise as advisors, support workers and network co-ordinators to co-produce a resource which would be useful both for migrants themselves and for the services supporting them. We are very grateful that the Independent Food Aid Network which publishes the existing Cash First leaflets, recognised the need for an additional migrant-focused resource and has agreed to publish our ‘Moved to Scotland and Worrying about Money?’ leaflet.

We have so far developed a leaflet for the City of Edinburgh. We are in discussions to develop versions for two other regions. We hope that this targeted resource will become available for more areas in the future. With the template in place, local area initiatives simply need to identify relevant local services and support organisations to add in. If you are interested in developing a leaflet for your area, please get in touch.

Other pathfinder initiatives emerging from the policy laboratory include:

• Resources for Accessible Intercultural Communication (handbook and wall poster now available to download)
• Guidance for Financial Health Checks Appropriate to Migrants Needs
• Training by migrant-led organisations on effective and accessible support for migrants

We need all hands on deck - working together, sharing the insights and expertise that come from different approaches – if we are to achieve the long-term impact and strategic change that is needed. Going forward, we view the policy laboratory trialled through this project as offering a model for effective collaborative working in the financially constrained landscape for service provision and social policy.

Migration Policy Scotland and the Poverty Alliance both believe in the value of innovative and collaborative approaches to addressing financial challenges and see working together as crucial to tackling poverty in Scotland.

Notes

[i] Open the Door - Migrants Facing Financial Disadvantage and their Needs for Support - Migration Policy Scotland (2024); Tackling Child Poverty in Migrant Families​: Engaging Migrant Perspectives - Migration Policy Scotland (2025)

[ii] Hidden hardships: The immigration system and child poverty - IPPR (2025)

[iii] Trends in relative Child Poverty, Vizard et al. (2023)

[iv] This project was funded by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust (2023-2025)