Campaigners have called for urgent action to tackle 'shameful' levels of child poverty in parts of Scotland, as new figures show 13 local authorities have wards where more than 30% of children live in severe poverty. The worst affected areas include Glasgow, the west of Scotland, Edinburgh, Dundee, Fife, Aberdeen and Stirling.
The Campaign to End Child Poverty has produced a detailed map of child poverty for every ward, council and constituency. It warns that inflation, unemployment and spending cuts could cause levels of deprivation to spiral further. John Dickie, speaking on behalf of the campaign's Scottish members, said: 'It is shameful that in almost every part of our country there are children who are missing out and seeing their future life chances seriously harmed.'
The map classifies children as living in poverty if they are in families on out-of-work benefits or working tax credits with an income below 60% of the median, before housing costs. Official figures show that overall in Scotland, 20% of children live in poverty under this measure.
A Scottish government spokeswoman said ministers are 'determined to address the root causes of child poverty', pointing to the launch of Scotland's first national strategy on child poverty last year. Labour social justice spokesman Drew Smith said work is the best route out of poverty, calling for a focus on job creation and implementing a Living Wage for Scotland.
Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesman Liam McArthur urged effective collaboration across all levels of government to create jobs and reduce unemployment. The Campaign to End Child Poverty's Scottish members include Action for Children Scotland, Barnardo's Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Children 1st, the Church of Scotland, One Parent Families Scotland, the Poverty Alliance and Save the Children.
