Nearly 16,500 children in Ayrshire are living in poverty, a new report has revealed.
Now demands have been made for the Scottish Government to make child poverty an “immediate priority” after latest figures show it’s on the rise all over Ayrshire.
New figures estimate that 4,366 children in South Ayrshire were living in poverty during the financial year 2019/20, once housing costs are taken into account.
That equates to 24.8 per cent of children living in the area — almost a quarter.
And that percentage figure is up by almost 2.2 per cent compared to the 2014/15 figure, which showed 22.7 per cent of kids were living in households deemed to be below the 60 per cent median.
And in East Ayrshire the figure is equally worrying.
In 2014/15, it was estimated that 24.4 per cent of kids were living in poverty.
The latest data, for 2019/20, shows an increase of 2.9 per cent and the data claims 5,754 children were living in poverty.
North Ayrshire figures showed that 24.4 per cent of children lived in poverty during 2014/15.
But it’s increased by 3.2 per cent and the 2019/20 data estimates that 6,274 are living below the breadline.
It means there are almost 16,500 children in the Ayrshire region who are living in deprived households.
The figures have been labelled as “unacceptable” and “shameful.”
South Scotland Labour MSP Carol Mochan said: “Scotland is one of the richest countries in the world, yet in our own area a quarter or more of children are living in poverty, that is simply unacceptable.
“I have lived and worked in East Ayrshire most of my life and the amount of kids you hear about needing teachers to give them food or sitting exams on an empty stomach is shameful.”
Speaking on behalf of members of End Child Poverty, John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said the figures “speak for themselves.”
He continued: “The situation for children couldn’t be starker.”
The Scottish Government say they are doing all they can to tackle child poverty.
A spokesperson said: “We are providing support worth about £5,000 by the time a child turns six through the Best Start Grant, Best Start Foods and Scottish Child Payment.
“This payment, worth £40 every four weeks, is already reaching thousands of families on low incomes.”
The UK Government insisted they are “committed” to supporting the poorest families in our society.
A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions added: “Latest figures show that the number of children in absolute poverty has fallen by 300,000 since 2010.”
MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, Allan Dorans, said the figures were “intolerable.”
He added: “Child poverty is totally unacceptable in any circumstances and we must all do what we can to eradicate this from our society."
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