New UofG Spotlight podcast episode looks at poverty in Scotland in 2026

5 October 2026: This week on the UofG Spotlight podcast, we welcome guests from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Poverty and Inequality Commission to talk about new reports examining poverty in Scotland in 2026.

In today's episode of the UofG Spotlight podcast, we’re marking Challenge Poverty Week and regular podcast host Professor Kezia Dugdale is joined by guest host and Centre for Public Policy colleague Dr Claire MacRae.

We talk to Charlotte Gorman from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Professor Stephen Sinclair from the Poverty and Inequality Commission about newly published reports that look at the progress we’re making towards eradicating poverty in Scotland in 2026 and how we can continue to work towards this goal.

Charlotte Gorman is Senior Policy Adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and author of the JRF’s new Poverty in Scotland 2026 report. The report says that with targets missed and poverty too high, radical change is needed, and that local government needs to play a bigger role in poverty reduction.

Professor Stephen Sinclair is Chair of the Poverty and Inequality Commission and Professor of Social Policy and co-Director of the Scottish Poverty & Inequality Research Unit at Glasgow Caledonian University. The Commission’s new report looks at the role of universal and targeted approaches to tackling poverty.

We discuss child poverty and the Scottish Government’s targets, social security and the backdrop of Scotland’s challenging financial outlook, what role local government can play in tackling poverty, and more.

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Contact public-policy@glasgow.ac.uk if you have any questions about UofG Spotlight.