[UK] Children in ethnic minority homes face double poverty risk

from The Scotsman

MICHAEL HOWIE

CHILDREN from minority ethnic backgrounds are twice as likely to live in poverty as white children, say Executive figures.

Some 41 per cent of children with a minority ethnic head of household were living in relative low-income poverty between 2002-3 and 2004-5. For youngsters living in a household led by a non-minority ethnic adult, the figure was only 21 per cent. After housing costs are deducted, the number of ethnic minority children living in poverty is even higher, at 42 per cent.

The figures were revealed in an answer by Malcolm Chisholm, the minister for education and young people, to a parliamentary question asked by the SNP's communities spokeswoman, Christine Grahame. She said: "It is disgraceful enough that we have one in four children in Scotland living in poverty. But what these latest figures highlight is that if you are a child in an ethnic minority group, you are twice as likely to be living in poverty.

"It proves after seven years in power the Lib/Lab coalition's policies are failing children, and highlights a very worrying ethnic divide in child poverty."

Children living in low- income poverty are those in households whose income is below 60 per cent of the UK average.

The poverty gulf reveals serious inequalities in Scotland's labour market which continue to hold back minority ethnic groups. The employment gap between ethnic minorities and the rest of Scotland's population is 19 per cent.

Despite this, ethnic minorities in Scotland are as likely or more likely to have degrees than the majority population. About 41 per cent of Chinese students and 39 per cent of Caribbean students are studying business administration in Scotland, compared with 14 per cent of white students. A total of 11 per cent of Pakistani students are studying IT compared with 4 per cent of white students.

The Commission for Racial Equality in Scotland, which last week unveiled a code of conduct for employers to help stamp out racial discrimination in the workplace, said the revelations were "stark".

Ali Jarvis, the commission's interim director, said: "We know that living in poverty can shape children's lives from one generation to the next.

"Coming on a day when the Commission for Racial Equality is challenging Scotland's employers to take positive actions to make the most of all Scotland's talents, these figures provide a stark indicator of the need for substantial measures to address child poverty.

"This indicates the need for specific actions to tackle the particular barriers that prevent Scotland's ethnic minority population from maximising their potential."