ABOUT 131,000 children in Scotland languish in poverty because their parents face barriers to earning more, a charity has found.
The study led by Action for Children has identified multiple barriers to work or increasing income and challenges the often repeated line from Westminster that the best way to prevent child poverty “is to ensure they do not grow up in a workless household.”
The charity confirmed that hurdles such as long-term sickness, disabilities and caring responsibilities can either prevent parents from taking paid work, or severely limit the hours and types of employment they can take on, with huge consequences for household income.
Researchers found that of the staggering 229,000 children in Scotland estimated to live in poverty, 88,000 had parents who faced one of those barriers, 38,000 faced two, and a further 5,000 faced three or more.
The study noted that about 59,000 children in poverty had at least one disabled parent and a further 10,000 where both a parent and a child had a disability.
Even for families where full-time paid work was possible, the charity found that 26,000 children in poverty had at least one parent working full-time, 15,000 of whom had both.
Action for Children’s Scotland director Fiona Steel called for further research into the barriers, saying: “In this Westminster election year, there is still serious progress to be made on tackling child poverty.
“While many of the levers to alleviate this situation reside with Westminster, it’s essential the Scottish government redoubles its efforts to ensure Scotland is a fair work nation and to remove these barriers faced by families.
“Through collaborative action between the Scottish and UK government, we need reform to strengthen the social security system and tackle the barriers to work for the families continually trapped in poverty.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Tackling poverty is a central mission for the Scottish government.
“We want all organisations to offer the real living wage, as well as flexible and family-friendly ways of working: it helps people enter employment, remain there and progress, while balancing other commitments such as care responsibilities and health issues.”
