TALE OF TWO SCOTLANDS

Richest 10% over 200 times wealthier than poorest 10%

THE richest 10 per cent of people in Scotland are more than 200 times wealthier than the poorest 10 per cent, official figures show.

The average fortune held by the richest in the country rose to more than £1.6million between 2018 and 2020, Scottish Government data shows – up 32 per cent since 2006-08.

In contrast, median average wealth for the poorest 10 per cent was just £7600. That was down from £8100 in 2014-16.

The absolute wealth gap between the top 10 per cent and the poorest 40 per cent in Scotland was £1,614,900, which has grown by almost a third since 2006-08.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures found the median household wealth in Scotland to be £214,000.

One in three people said they do not have enough savings to remain above the poverty line should they lose their job. Half the people in the bottom 20 per cent of earners in Scotland are deemed financially vulnerable, compared with just eight per cent of the highest 20 per cent.

Some 72 per cent of the households who reported struggling with debt were in the lowest 40 per cent of earners, compared with just three per cent of top earners.

The gap between the richest and poorest in terms of property wealth also grew, with the bottom 10 per cent reporting a median wealth of £18,000, compared to £500,000 in the top 10 per cent. Median pension wealth was even more unequal than wealth in general, with the bottom 10 per cent having just £1700 and the top 10 per cent reporting 363 times more at £617,300 in pensions. The Scottish Government blamed the “unacceptable” inequality on the UK’s “economic model”. They said: “Where we have the powers, we have taken progressive action which protects those on lower and middle incomes.”