A minimum income standard for remote and rural Scotland

This report calculates how much it costs for people to live at a minimum acceptable standard in remote rural Scotland. It builds on research elsewhere in the UK on the Minimum Income Standard (MIS), which is based on the minimum budgets required by various types of household. The research involves detailed discussions with members of the public about what should go into a minimum household ‘basket’ of goods and services, supported where relevant by expert knowledge, for example, on nutritional and heating standards. The research considered living costs in remote rural Scotland in the context of the fragility and sustainability of local communities and the ability of pensioners, working-age adults and families with children, on a range of incomes, to live satisfactory lives there.