Welcome to The Lid Files

Scotland has a child poverty crisis. It also has a waste crisis.
We believe the two are connected: for every £36,000 of public waste eliminated, a child could be lifted out of poverty - permanently.

At The Lid Files, we identify where and ask why that waste persists.

Billions are spent each year across councils, quangos, and enterprise agencies. But where is that money really going? Who is checking? And what’s being duplicated, mismanaged, or quietly written off?

We go looking for answers. Through FOI requests, longform reporting, and public data, we uncover the hidden systems, policies, and behaviours that quietly cost us all.

Sometimes it’s a software system no one needed.

Sometimes it’s the cost of 32 councils each running their own HR or payroll department.

Sometimes it’s a teacher being penalised thousands of pounds just for moving jobs between councils.

Sometimes it’s public money quietly spent on organisations that remain shielded from scrutiny and exempt from transparency rules.

Each time, the outcome is the same: public money is wasted, and the poorest pay the price.

This isn’t about spreadsheets. It’s about consequences.

If we’re serious about tackling child poverty, we can’t afford to ignore how public money is spent.

If you care about that too — subscribe, share, and join us.

And if you have a story we should investigate: editor@lidfiles.org