700,000 SCOTS LIVE IN POVERTY

'Shameful record' blamed on SNP and Tory ministers

- PAUL HUTCHEON

MORE than 700,000 working-age Scots adults are living in poverty the highest number since records began.

Figures also show nearly one-third of Scots earn below the voluntary real living wage set by campaigners.

Labour MSP Paul O'Kane said: "Only by delivering secure jobs and fair pay can we drive down poverty in Scotland for good.

"It is a scandal that so many jobs in Scotland don't provide a decent living" Tory austerity and attacks on the social security system are believed to be among the main drivers of rising levels of hardship.

New statistics on income inequality reveal how an ever-increasing number of people of working age are getting dragged into poverty.

Between 1994 and 1997, 560,000 Scots in this group were in relative poverty but by 2022 it had soared to 710,000.

The number of working-age adults in severe poverty is also at its highest since records began at 550,000.