One in ten youngsters still lives in grinding poverty

NEARLY a tenth of children in Scotland are living in "severe poverty", according to research from a leading charity, which says its findings are a "national scandal".

The Save the Children study found 90,000 youngsters were living in households that survive on less than half the median income, with nearly three-quarters of the children part of families in which no adult works.

The charity says such families make do without things such as separate bedrooms for older boys and girls, proper birthday celebrations and having friends round for dinner.

Save the Children classifies severe child poverty as either a single-parent family with one child under 14 with an income of less than 7,000, or a couple with two children under 14 on less than 12,500.

The charity warned the number of children trapped in impoverished households could "rise dramatically" as Scots have the lowest chance of finding work in the UK.

The head of the organisation in Scotland said swift action was required in the country's most deprived areas to prevent the emergence of a "lost generation".

The report, issued today, found the problem was most pronounced in Glasgow, with some 18 per cent of youngsters living in severe child poverty, double the Scottish average.

Among the home nations, the charity found Wales had the highest proportion of children in severe poverty (14 per cent) followed by England (13 per cent), then Scotland and Northern Ireland (both 9 per cent). It means across the UK, 1.6 million youngsters are living in severe poverty.

While Glasgow fares worst in Scotland, one out of every ten children is in severe poverty in no fewer than ten local authority areas. The councils with the highest proportion of children affected include North Ayrshire (18 per cent), West Dunbartonshire (14 per cent), Clackmannanshire (14 per cent) and Dundee (12 per cent).

Douglas Hamilton, head of Save the Children in Scotland, said: "Urgent action is required in Scotland's most deprived areas or we will end up with a lost generation. Some of these children will grow up living in households with no working adults - they have never seen a parent or grandparent work and this becomes the norm.

"People don't see a route out of poverty or this cycle of worklessness and the government needs to give them hope. It's essential that we see urgent, bold measures with more resources pumped into these areas to create some decent jobs for parents."

The report, Severe Child Poverty in Scotland, found 61 per cent of those children in severe poverty lived in a lone-parent household.More than two-thirds of those who fall into the category live in social rented accommodation.

John Dickie, head of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said: "There's no question that many parents are struggling to find and keep paid work, alongside the rising cost of living and the cuts to benefits and tax credits that are being imposed."

Communities minister Alex Neil said: "We are supporting thousands of families with innovative, home-grown policies, such as freezing council tax, free heating help, progressive abolition of prescription charges and the extension of free school meals.

"However, to achieve lasting change, it is crucial that we secure real financial powers and, importantly, responsibility for the benefits and tax-credits system in Scotland."