Labour accuses SNP of having ‘turned its back’ on rural Scotland

Ministers have come under fire over rising child poverty rates in rural Scotland – with Labour claiming youngsters are left “paying the price” for the SNP having “turned its back” on such communities.

While the proportion of youngsters in rural areas living in relative poverty fell to 14.5% for the period 2020 to 2023, this increased to 21.3% over the period 2021 to 2024, Scottish Government figures showed.

The rise comes despite Scottish Government efforts to tackle child poverty, with First Minister John Swinney having declared his ambition to “eradicate” the problem.

However, the statistics also showed an increase in the number of people in rural Scotland living in relative poverty.

This grew to 220,000 in 2021 to 2024, with this total 57% higher than it was 10 years ago.

Labour rural affairs spokeswoman Rhoda Grant said: “After almost 18 years of SNP government, rural economies are struggling, housing is short in supply, and healthcare is too often out of reach.

“People are being cut off by ferries that don’t sail, roads that aren’t safe and buses that barely exist.

“The SNP’s failures in government are hollowing out rural communities and here we can see the devastating consequences.”

She accused the SNP of having “turned its back on rural communities”, adding “children are paying the price” as a result.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The Joseph Rowntree Foundation predicts Scotland will be the only part of the UK where child poverty rates will fall by 2029.

“This is thanks to the action the Scottish Government is taking to support people, including the Scottish Child Payment and our work to effectively scrap the impact of the two-child cap in 2026.

“However ,our policies are having to work harder than ever to make a difference, against a backdrop of UK Government decision making, a continuing cost-of-living crisis, and stagnating living standards at the UK level.

“It is vital that the UK Government takes action to support people during tough times and with energy bills having risen by £300 and other costs continuing to rise, rural communities need to see action from the UK Government now.

“What will not help our mission to eradicate child poverty is the cuts to support for disabled people proposed by the UK Government, which will push 250,000 more people into poverty, 50,000 of whom are children.”