Living in poverty
(i.e. in households with less than 60% median income ahc) in Scotland
today are:
980,000 20% or one fifth of all individuals,
2500,00 24% of children,
150,000 16% of pensioners,
590,000 19% of working age adults
(Scottish Households below Average Income 2005/06)
Two-fifths of all children in poverty have someone in their family
doing paid work. Of these, most live with two parents. Among those
in poverty who are in workless families, most live with just one
parent.
The poverty rate among working-age adults without dependent children
has risen from around 15% in the mid-1990s to 18%, despite a fall
in worklessness. Unlike children, the poverty risks for working-age
adults in both working and workless households are higher than
a decade ago.
Relative to earnings, out-of-work benefits for working-age adults
without children are now worth 20% less than in 1997.
Two-fifths of working-age adults in poverty live in households
where someone is in paid work. Two-thirds of low-paid employees
are women, as many more women than men work part-time, and part-time
work carries a high risk of low pay.
(Monitoring poverty and social exclusion in Scotland 2006)
• Inequality: the share of the income of the richest ten
per cent is the same as that of the bottom fifty per
cent;
• Poor Health: differences in life expectancy between the
poorest and richest areas of Glasgow can be up 25
years for men and 15 years for women;
• Debt and financial exclusion: Only 1 in six people whose
household income is less than £10,000 has a
bank account. More than half do not have any savings
• Bad Housing: 360,000 homes in Scotland are affected by
dampness, more than 70% of Scottish social housing
is below the Scottish Quality Housing Standard and over 125,000
children live in overcrowded houses
• Fuel Poverty: an estimated 650,000 ‘fuel poor’
households in Scotland and more than 2,000 (rising
to 5,000 in severe winters) people aged over 65 die as a result
of cold related illnesses during winter months
• Disadvantaged young people: nearly 1 in 5 young people
leave school without SVQ2 level (Higher education
entry level) qualifications increasing their risk of poverty in
later life
