Housing and Child-Poverty in Scotland

About 70,000 Scottish children have been pushed into poverty as a result of soaring housing costs, new figures reveal. One in four children in Scotland are now living in poverty and the problem is escalating. Rent levels have soared across Scotland in recent years, with hotspots in particular areas like Edinburgh. This eats into the incomes of poorer households and can push them into in hardship.

Some 260,000 Scots children found themselves in poverty last year – including an extra 70,000 who were pushed into this situation because of high housing costs, Scottish Government figures have shown. The latter figure is 20,000 higher than when the SNP came to office in 2007. It means 26 per cent of children in Scotland are living in relative poverty, up from 22 per cent the previous year.

Alison Watson, Deputy Director of Shelter Scotland, said: “Recent figures confirmed the devastating impact the lack of affordable housing is having on families and individuals living in Scotland, pushing more into poverty and damaging their wellbeing and life chances – especially children. That 170,000 more people have been pushed into poverty because of their housing costs should be yet another alarm bell for the Scottish Government that much more needs to be done right now to tackle Scotland’s housing crisis.”