A major new report has found that 25 million people across the UK are living below the Minimum Income Standard, the highest proportion since records began.
The findings, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, show that more than half of all children in the UK, 52.6 per cent, are now growing up in households that do not meet the income level required for what is described as a decent standard of living.
The Minimum Income Standard represents the level of income needed to live with dignity in the UK and currently stands at around £30,500 per person.
The report also found that most households below the threshold include at least one person in work, underlining the scale of the challenge facing working families.
Reacting to the figures, SNP MSP Paul McLennan said the report showed the depth of the cost of living crisis and renewed calls for constitutional change.
“This report is yet more evidence that broken, Brexit Britain is beyond repair and that a fresh start with independence is our only escape from a Westminster system that doesn’t work for Scotland.
“On Keir Starmer’s watch millions of working families across these islands are in employment, but can’t afford to live with dignity – that’s the reality of successive Westminster governments that have failed to get a grip of the cost of living crisis and have allowed living standards to collapse.
“While the Westminster way has seen a majority of children fall below the Minimum Income Scale, the SNP is offering the most comprehensive cost of living support package in the UK – putting Scottish households first amid chaos in from the Labour Party in Westminster.
“John Swinney has taken decisive action in Scotland to tackle poverty with our child poverty rates the lowest in the UK, but the reality is without the full powers of an independent country, we are fighting with one hand tied behind our back.
“The SNP is firmly on Scotland’s side and through a fresh start with independence we can use our vast energy wealth to create a country that works for our people.”
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation described the report as a stark warning about the pressures facing families, particularly as food, housing and energy costs continue to strain household budgets.
With a majority of children now living below the Minimum Income Standard and working households increasingly affected, the findings are likely to intensify debate across the political spectrum about wages, welfare and the direction of economic policy.
