One in four children in Scotland are living in poverty
Action groups are calling on the government to put in better support
A campaign group is calling on the government to take better action to reduce the number of children living in poverty.
The End Child Poverty Coalition, which consists of 101 organisations, says that all levels of government could do more to reduce the “unacceptably high” child poverty rate that research by Loughborough University has found.
It revealed that just four local authority areas in Scotland had rates below 18% in 2021/2022, which is the number Holyrood is aiming to be under in the next 12 months.
By 2030, the current target is under 10%.
Director of Child Poverty Action Group, John Dickie said: “Here in Scotland, the Scottish Child Payment is already making a big difference to struggling families, but nearly one in four children still face this deep injustice and further effort is now needed to ensure Scotland's upcoming child poverty targets are met.”
The coalition are calling for an end to the two child policy on benefits which prevents some benefits being claimed for any child who is third born or later in their family.
Areas in the central belt are some of the worst affected
Glasgow City, North Ayrshire and Clackmannanshire had the highest child poverty rates, with 32%, 29% and 28.3% respectively.
East Renfrewshire had the lowest estimated rate of 14.4%, followed by East Dunbartonshire, 14.9%, the Shetland Islands 15.4% and Aberdeenshire 16%.
The statistics were calculated based on the number of children who live in a household with a median income below 60% after housing costs are removed.
Mr Dickie went on to add: “The First Minister has committed to use devolved powers to the 'absolute maximum effect', so his Government must now do the right thing and go further to both increase the value of the Scottish Child Payment.”
End Child Poverty are calling on the Governments to do more
A spokesperson from the Scottish Government said: “Tackling poverty and protecting people from harm is one of three critical missions for this government.
This year and last we have allocated almost £3 billion to support policies to tackle poverty and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
"We have continually urged the UK Government to also take urgent action and match our ambitions to tackle poverty.”
A spokesperson from Westminster said: “in the long-term, the best route out of poverty is through employment, which is why we are boosting our childcare offers to help more parents to re-enter and progress in work.”
Coordinator of the coalition, Rachel Walters, disagreed with this however, saying: “71% of children who are in poverty were in a family where at least one adult was working, across the UK.”
She added: “For lots of families who are living in a low income background, work is not a route of poverty because someone in that family is already working, and yet they’re still living in a situation where they can’t afford the basics.”