Child poverty rates remain at the same "scandalous" level as when the SNP swept to power nearly sixteen years ago.
New figures show one in four children remain in poverty while “persistent” deprivation is gradually on the rise.
Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy said: "The SNP’s failure to tackle poverty is a shameful blight on their record in government.
“A single person in poverty is one too many and a single day spent in poverty is a day too many – but the SNP seem content to let things stall at these devastating levels.
“It’s clear both of our governments have failed miserably to protect people from the cost of living crisis, squandering the legacy of the last Labour government."
The unwelcome statistics were published on Nicola Sturgeon’s final day as First Minister at Holyrood.
Sturgeon cited poverty reduction as a key Government policy, but the numbers show tiny reductions in deprivation
They show 24 per cent of children living in Scotland were in relative poverty, after housing costs, between 2019 and 2022.
Although the figure has fluctuated in recent years, the proportion was exactly the same between 2007 and 2010.
Working age poverty stands at 21 per cent, up from 19 per cent between 2018 and 2021.
Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “This disturbing data shows that the pandemic and cost of living crisis have dealt a devastating double blow to those on the lowest incomes.
“The UK Government must act, but the next First Minister must do so too. They should acknowledge that tackling poverty requires greater action to narrow the yawning gap between rich and poor and use all of the powers at their disposal to do more than just tweak tax: instead, they should introduce bold, progressive taxation, including targeting wealth.
"Only then will they end the deep injustice of poverty for good and build a fairer future for all of us.”
John Dickie, Director of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland said:
“In a rich country these scandalous levels of child poverty are utterly unacceptable and a stark reminder how vital the Scottish Government’s focus on child poverty is."
Scottish politics
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “We recognise too many people are living in poverty which is why we are committed to break the cycle of poverty in Scotland within the scope of our powers and budget.
“Levels of poverty have fallen less than we would have hoped, given the Scottish Government’s significant investment. However these figures cover the period when the Covid-19 pandemic was having a significant economic impact and progress has also been hindered by the devastating impact of the UK Government’s decade of austerity and its welfare cuts for many Scottish families.
“As well as the game-changing Scottish Child Payment, we support families in variety of ways including free child care, free bus travel for under 22s, free school meals to around 145,000 pupils, and we have made significant increases to both our fuel and food insecurity funds and have also made £2.5 million available to local authorities to boost the Scottish Welfare Fund.”
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