TACKLING child poverty should be the Scottish government’s “priority from day one,” according to two-thirds of young people.

Researchers for Save the Children Scotland and Young Scot surveyed 2,600 people around Scotland aged between 11 and 26 and found that 66 per cent wanted to see it at the top of First Minister John Swinney’s “to do” list — ahead of the NHS, education, climate change and the economy.

Sixty-one per cent of respondents knew families affected by poverty, but 43 per cent believed ministers were not doing enough to drive down child poverty.

The concerns appeared to echo those raised by charities such as Joseph Rowntree Foundation Scotland and the Poverty Alliance in recent weeks, who warned ministers they risked breaching the law by not clearly setting out how they would meet the legally binding target of cutting the child poverty rate from its present 21 per cent to 10 per cent or less by 2030.

Save the Children Scotland’s Claire Telfer said: “Young people have sent a clear message to the Scottish government: tackling child poverty should be a priority from day one.

“The Scottish government has set an ambitious target to reduce the number of children experiencing poverty to less than one in 10 by 2030.

“While progress has been made, young people still see double that number — one in five of their peers — missing out on opportunities they need to thrive.”

“We are calling on government to publish a revised child poverty delivery plan in the first 100 days.

“Young people deserve a clear roadmap for change and it’s time to deliver.”

Young Scot chief executive John Loughton added: “When two-thirds of young people, in a poll of thousands, identify this as the issue that matters most, we should all listen.

“These findings show that young people understand poverty sits at the root of many of the systemic challenges facing Scotland and their message couldn’t be clearer — reducing child poverty should be not only a long-term ambition, but an immediate priority.

“Too many young people see the impact of poverty every day and they are asking for action that matches the scale of the challenge so that the benefits are felt across generations.”

The Scottish government was contacted for comment.