This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Executive responds to low-income figures
13/03/2003
Over half a million Scots have been lifted out of absolute poverty since 1996/97, Margaret Curran, Minister for Social Justice, pointed out today.
Ms Curran was commenting on the 2001-02 Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data released today by both Department of Work and Pensions and the Executive.
She said:
"We welcome the publication of the figures which show that we have made very substantial inroads into lifting people out of poverty.
"In 1997, 34 per cent of Scottish children lived in homes where the household income was less than 60 per cent of GB median after housing costs. By March 2002 that figure had halved to 16 per cent of children living in absolute poverty - meaning we had lifted 210,000 children out of absolute poverty, and 60,000 children out of relative poverty. I am proud of that record.
"In 1996/97 29 per cent of Scots pensioners - 250,000 - had household incomes of less than 60 per cent of median. Today only 9 per cent of our pensioners live in absolute poverty - a drop of two-thirds to 80,000. And we have lifted 80,000 pensioners out of relative poverty.
"And the proportion of working aged adults living in absolute poverty has dropped by 7 percentage points.
"Encouraging though these figures are it is important to stress that we still have much to do before we can close the opportunity gap that still stifles the potential of many Scots.
"Working with the UK government, we are committed to building a fairer society, where everyone can benefit from Scotland's prosperity.
"As a result of tax and benefit reforms since 1997, including the changes introduced in the 2002 Budget, by next month a single earner family with two young children on half average earnings will be £3,490 a year better off in real terms.
"However it is important to remember that living in poverty is not just about income measurement - important though that is.
"To tackle poverty we need to make sure our schools deliver for all our children. That the health service delivers and that people have the skills to earn a decent wage. We want everyone to live in a decent home, in a safe neighbourhood and we want all Scots to enjoy a rich cultural life. That is why the Scottish Budget concentrates our resources on closing the opportunity gap.
"We have made a lot of progress in our fight against poverty since devolution, but we still have long way to go. There is no simple, or simplistic solution to defeating poverty and anyone who colludes with that is being dishonest.
"Defeating poverty is the hardest job facing any government - but we have had the courage to take this challenge head on and I am confident we have the policies in place to achieve our ambition of a better Scotland for all."
The DWP's HBAI survey uses both absolute and relative measures of poverty.
The absolute measure looks at progress against a fixed baseline, in this case 1996-97, when the 60 per cent median threshold was a household income of £204 a week (after housing costs) - in 2001/02 prices - for a family of two adults and two children.
The absolute measure takes out the effects of external factors such as economic growth and general increases in living standards adjusted to remove the effects of inflation.
The relative measure looks at inequality and how the living standards of poor families compare to society as a whole. This means that that the 60 per cent median threshold changes each year as incomes rise. At 2001-02 the threshold was £242 per week (after housing costs) for a family of two adults and two children.