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Sunday, January 20, 2019

Kirkcaldy's Misery

More than 70 per cent of children in one of Kirkcaldy’s poorest areas are estimated to be living in poverty. The shocking latest figures for Sinclairtown Central have revealed that 70.5 per cent of youngsters under 16 are living in households which are struggling just to get by.

The figure isn’t much better in Gallatown West, where an estimated 59.9 per cent are living in families in receipt of working and child tax credits and with an income less than 60 per cent of the average household. This compares to a figure of 17.9 per cent for the whole of Fife and 16 per cent for Scotland.

And the most up to date statistics taken from the Department of Work and Pensions Child Poverty Estimates for 2016, don’t take into account the recent introduction of Universal Credit, which is hitting the poorest families the hardest.

Joyce Leggate, chairman of Kirkcaldy Foodbank, said: “These figures are shocking and I cannot even begin to imagine how much worse they will be when the post Universal Credit statistics are added. To have seven out of 10 children in one small area living day to day, month by month and even year by year in poverty should bring shame on every politician who has the power and influence to change this broken system. “We are constantly being told we live in one of the richest economies in the world but I doubt if many individuals living in this part of Kirkcaldy will agree. It’s time for everyone to wake up to the drastic effect that austerity is having on people and change lives for our future.”

 https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/child-poverty-kirkcaldy-s-shocking-story-1-4857879

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