Number of children in poverty falls

Official statistics showed there were 200,000 youngsters classed as living in relative poverty in 2009-10.

The figure is a drop of 10,000 on the previous year and means 20 per cent of children are affected by the problem.

According to the statistics released by the Scottish Government, the number of children living in relative poverty has dropped by 100,000 in the past ten years.

The number of children in absolute poverty has also fallen, from 110,000 in 2008-9 to 100,000 in 2009-10.

However, Douglas Hamilton, head of Save the Children in Scotland, said the statistics were a "grim reminder" that child poverty is still an issue in Scotland.

He said: "The statistics show that there are still more than 200,000 children living in poverty in Scotland, which is an insignificantly small decline on last year's figure, and less of a drop than the UK as a whole."

Relative poverty is defined as a couple having an income of 248 a week, while if a couple have an income of 209 a week they are classed as being in absolute poverty.