Next Scottish government needs to “radically change the game” to protect 80,000 children left in very deep poverty

• Average couple with two primary-aged children in very deep poverty are over £1,000 a month away from 'the poverty line'
• A combination of lack of work, high housing costs and insufficient social security keep families in very deep poverty
• Seven in 10 children in very deep poverty live in a couple household

With Scottish Elections a year away, JRF says parties who aspire to govern must radically up their game as the scale of the deepest form of poverty in Scotland is revealed.

A new briefing from the social change organisation finds the equivalent of all children 16 and under in Edinburgh - around 80,000 - are living in very deep poverty.

While child poverty in Scotland has fallen in the past 20 years, very deep poverty has not. Children in poverty are now more likely to be in a family in very deep poverty than they were in the mid-90s.

JRF's research find that it is almost impossible to meet Scotland's statutory child poverty targets in five years' time without lifting more children from this form of hardship.

Households with two children under 12 in very deep poverty are, on average, £1,100 a month below the 'poverty line'. For these families to lift themselves out of poverty, a couple would need to work 15 more days a month on the National Living Wage.

The report also found one in four children in very deep poverty were from a minority ethnic background despite making up a smaller proportion of the population in Scotland.

JRF Associate Director for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Chris Birt said:

"We've heard a lot recently about people feeling left behind by politics. What more striking evidence of that is needed than the stark findings of this report?

"If this happened overnight, it would be an emergency. The outcry should be the same even if we've got here after 30 years.

"Politicians want to rebuild trust in politics so they must take action for these children that are being left behind. And take that action at scale.

"We know the drivers of poverty in Scotland are poor work, poor housing and even poorer social security. You can't pull one of these levers only and expect the substantial impact we need to see. Progress on all three will truly give children in Scotland a more hopeful future.
 
"Whichever party wins the next Holyrood election will carry the heavy burden of meeting the Scottish Parliament's child poverty targets. Succeeding against the target will deliver a Scotland where all our children are able to flourish, and  trust in our political institutions can be restored. 

"The UK Government must also not sit idly by - it can also play a massive role in improving the lives of children in Scotland and across the UK. They must also keep up their end of the bargain."