STV Appeal

One in four children in Scotland live in poverty – this is a shocking statistic and one which STV and The Hunter Foundation together are determined to tackle. 

The STV Appeal 2012: Supporting Scotland’s Children hopes to expose Scotland’s secret shame, raise awareness, challenge stereotypes and draw attention to the real extent of child poverty in Scotland. We'll be giving Scotland’s vulnerable children a voice. You'll be giving whatever you can via our Just Giving page, secure in the knowledge that every penny rasied stays in Scotland and is spent on the children; STV and the Hunter foundation are covering all the administrative costs involved.

*Please note: the children in the above film are actors.

Be in the know:

Poverty in Scotland is significantly higher than in other European countries. Currently 25% of all children in Scotland live in poverty.

How is poverty defined?

People are considered as living in poverty if they live in households with less than 60% of average household income.

This means that a lone parent family with two children (aged between 5 and 14) are defined as living in poverty if they are living on less than £256 per week.

A couple with two children (aged between 5 and 14) are defined as living in poverty if they are living on less than £346 a week which averages out at just over £12 a day.

This is just not enough when you have to cover costs such as food, fuel bills, household goods and transport…and this is before additional extras like school trips, family trips and leisure activities are even accounted for.

These families miss out on many of things others take for granted, like celebrating a birthday or taking a short family holiday.

What causes poverty?

Poverty is a combination of social, political and economic factors and personal choices that drive the nature and extent of poverty.

Some of the key factors that influence poverty are:

• Inequality
• Low pay
• Inadequate benefits
• Poor quality work opportunities coupled with lack of high quality childcare
• Lack of support for those with caring responsibilities, ill health or those affected by disability

Is poverty falling?

Great progress was made in reducing the number of people, specifically children, who were living in poverty between 1996/97 and 2004/05 when poverty statistics fell over a quarter by 100,000.

However, since 2007, there has been no overall reduction in child poverty according to the latest data available.

What is life like for children living in poverty?

It's tough. Children living in poverty in Scotland have less access to safe play space. They are also less likely to participate in arts and drama, sports or other outdoor activities.

Sources: The Poverty Alliance, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, The Open University Scotland and Glasgow Caledonian University.