Our poor kids

from The Daily Record

By Magnus Gardham

A QUARTER of Scots kids are growing up in poverty, according to a shocking new book.

A fifth of the population are facing a daily fight for survival.

That means 910,000 people, including 240,000 children, are living below the breadline, Poverty in Scotland 2007 has revealed.

The book, which is published today, lifts the lid on the daily struggle faced by nearly a million Scots.

According to the official Government definition, anyone living on less than 60 per cent of average earnings after housing costs, is poor.

In practical terms, poverty means:

A single person on under £100 a week.

A lone parent with two kids living on less than £186 a week.

A couple with two kids living on less than £268 a week.

First Minister Jack McConnell is due to make a major speech on poverty at the book's launch in Glasgow today.

But its stark findings will place him, and other politicians, under intense pressure to step up efforts to tackle a problem which blights whole communities.

The book highlights extreme levels of hardship in Glasgow.

A fifth of all Scotland's poverty is concentrated in the city.

North Lanarkshire and Edinburgh are also blackspots.

And one in 10 people in rural areas - a total of 100,000 people - are living below the breadline.

Poverty is not confined to the unemployed.

Half of those classed as poor are in families where at least one person has a job.

The 182-page book, produced by a group of campaigners and academics, paints a relentlessly grim picture of life for those officially classed as poor.

It says: "A lack of money leads to the threat of falling into debt, choosing between necessities, going without basics, being caught in a cycle of 'dead end' jobs and being unable to save.

"People in poverty describe feeling less worthy, isolated, stigmatised and unable to participate in their community and data suggests they are more likely to suffer mental distress.

"They express frustration at Government promotion of health diets at the same time as being unable to afford the healthiest food.

"Not surprisingly, poverty is associated with poorer health."

The book's authors note: "Scotland's economy is growing and is one of the strongest in the world, yet poverty is widespread."

They blame a list of factors, including low pay and low quality jobs, inadequate benefits, and a lack of support for those who are ill or caring for others.

Their damning conclusion is: "Current policy is failing many of the children and pensioners it is targeted at."

Commenting yesterday, John Dickie, head of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, which helped compile the book, said: "Behind the dry statistics, the reality is that people face stark choices.

"They have to choose between paying a fuel bill or sending their child on a school outing, for example.

"We hear of parents going without food to give their kids a healthy meal, or not visiting relatives because they cannot afford the bus fare.

"It raises questions about the kind of society we want our children growing up in.

"Is it one that is scarred by poverty or where the support exists to lift everyone out of poverty?"

He added: "We'll hear what the Executive have done. We recognise there has been progress and we welcome it.

"But we have a long way to go."

The book was compiled by the Scottish Poverty Information Unit, Poverty Alliance and Open University.

Its launch comes nine weeks before the Holyrood election.

The timing is a deliberate challenge to politicians on all sides to put poverty at the top of the election agenda.

Peter Kelly, director of Poverty Alliance, said: "This new publication highlights that poverty remains a significant problem for thousands of people across Scotland.

"But it also shows that real progress can be made if resources and political commitment is there."

Dr John McKendrick, of the Scottish Poverty Information Unit at Glasgow Caledonian University, said: "It is all too easy for comfortable Scotland to dismiss the reality of poverty.

"But poverty persists despite the positive strides taken in recent years.

"Scotland's poverty is largely hidden to the majority, concentrated in urban estates or dispersed across the rural hinterland.

"Poverty amidst affluence is to found in many guises, from the Big Issue seller on the street corner, to the poorly paid cleaner working long, unsociable hours.

"Scotland must not only be prepared to recognise its poverty, it must also be prepared to take the action to eradicate it."

Labour have an ambitious pledge to eradicate child poverty within a generation.

And they claim to be on target.

SINCE they came to power in 1997, the number of kids living in poverty in Scotland has fallen by a third.

More than 100,000 youngsters have been lifted out of poverty.

But at Holyrood yesterday, JackMcConnell was urged to do more by former communities minister Jackie Baillie.

The First Minister told MSPs that better education and creating jobs held the key to tackling poverty.

He said: "The best way in the long term is through education skills, through employment opportunities and the ability for families to stand on their own two feet.

"To make their contribution, to ensure that the next generation have the ability to go even further.

"That remains an absolute priority commitment."

'We hear of parents going without food to give their kids a healthy meal'