Childpoverty
Shocking figures show true levels of youngsters deprived
A higher percentage of children in Rutherglen and Cambuslang are living in poverty, the Reformer can reveal.
Figures supplied by the End Child Poverty Now Coalition to see the true picture in the area.
And the statistics reveal thousands of children live below the poverty line.
Thousands of children in Rutherglen and Cambuslang are living below the poverty line.
And, worryingly, the situation has become worse since 2015.
The Reformer reported last week that figures had been released by the End Child Poverty Coalition relating to child poverty in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.
But we have now been able to break those figures down further to reveal the true picture in the two towns.
And it shows youngsters living in Rutherglen are more likely to be living in poverty than any other town in South Lanarkshire apart from Blantyre and Larkhall.
A whopping 28.26 per cent of children in the Rutherglen Central and North ward are in poverty once their families housing costs are removed.
That figure is 27.08 per cent in Rutherglen South, with nearly 1,400 children classed as living in poverty across the two towns.
Even before housing costs are removed, 868 children are classified as being in poverty.
In Cambuslang, nearly 1,600 children are affected. That represents 20.68 per cent in Cambuslang West and 21.26 per cent in Cambuslang East.
Across the whole area, nearly 3,000 children are classed as living in poverty once housing costs are removed, or 24.3 per cent.
The last time these statistics were released, the figure was 23.3 per cent.
Ian Robertson, secretary of the Rutherglen and Cambuslang Foodbank, told the Reformer the fact the situation was getting worse rather than better came as no surprise.
He said: “We are experiencing a 50 per cent increase in demand for support from the food bank and,while there has been an increase in food donations, we are finding on a regular basis we are having to use cash reserves to supplement food donations with direct purchases by the food bank to bolster the stock in the warehouse.
“Over Christmas and New Year we spent several hundred pounds in providing individuals and families with top-ups to their power cards as poverty isn’t simply about food.
“One of our committee members