Poverty stats reveal city’s ‘greatest shame’

Newlypublished report shows that more than one-in-four children in the city are living in poverty

Statistics revealing Dundee’s child poverty blight have been described as the city’s “greatest shame”.

A report by the End Child Poverty Coalition shows the city has one of the worst rates of child poverty in Scotland, more than 8,000, or 28% of children growing up below the poverty line.

A Dundee City Council spokesperson described poverty as “neither inevitable nor acceptable” and said priority must be given to “improve the life chances of children.”

Lochee councillor Michael Marra, who sits on the Dundee Fighting for Fairness commission and was formerly head of policy for Oxfam Scotland, said poverty was a “blight” on the city’s future.

He said: ‘The persistent and extreme level of child poverty is our good city’s greatest shame.”

He added: “The root causes have not changed in decades – we have an economy that does not work for the majority of our population.”

The End Child Poverty coalition in Scotland has called for urgent action to be taken at every political level.

In Fife, 24% of children were deemed to be in poverty, with 19% in Angus and 17% in Perth and Kinross.

Rizwan Rafik, of the Taught by Muhammad foodbank, said: “With the rate of child poverty still sitting at just over 1 in 4, things really do need to get better and more needs to be done.”

A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “Poverty is neither inevitable nor acceptable and Dundee must do more to challenge it and prevent it occurring in the first place.

“All children in Dundee must enjoy the same life chances and good quality education is the essential first step towards a future with high hopes and aspirations.

“Services must be better joined up to meet all the needs of individuals and families in poverty – in their localities wherever possible.”

Poverty is neither inevitable nor acceptable and Dundee must do more to challenge it and prevent it occurring in the first place

Picture: Mhairi Edwards. Dundee has one of the highest rates of child poverty in Scotland.