10 January 2012 Last updated at 03:58 ET

Scottish child poverty hotspots revealed

The worst areas for child poverty in Scotland have been mapped for the first time

Action is needed to tackle "shameful" levels of child poverty in parts of Scotland, campaigners have urged.

It comes as figures suggest 13 Scottish councils have wards where more than 30% of children live in pockets of severe poverty.

The worst areas were in Glasgow, the west of Scotland, Edinburgh, Dundee, Fife, Aberdeen and Stirling.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty warned inflation, unemployment and cuts could see levels of deprivation spiral.

The group has produced a map of child poverty for every ward, council and constituency.

John Dickie, speaking on behalf of Scottish members of the Campaign to End Child Poverty, said: "It is shameful that in almost every part of our country there are children who are missing out and seeing their future life chances seriously harmed.

"With public spending budgets under severe pressure the need to invest to prevent the numbers of children living in poverty spiralling is greater than ever."

'Stark reminder'

The map classes children as living in poverty if they are in families on out of work benefits or work tax credits where income is less than 60% of median - before housing costs.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty said the latest official figures showed that overall in Scotland 20% of children live in poverty on this measure.

A Scottish government spokeswoman said: "We are determined to address the root causes of child poverty.

"That's why last year, we launched Scotland's first ever national strategy to tackle child poverty, which will see Scotland's poorest families benefit from help to increase their household incomes and improve their children's life chances."

Labour social justice spokesman Drew Smith said work was the best route out of poverty.

He added: "That is why as well as investment in the vital early years and improving childcare, we need a renewed focus on creating jobs and implementing a Living Wage for Scotland."

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesman Liam McArthur said: "In light of this report, and the effect that unemployment has on levels of poverty, it is more clear than ever that effective collaboration at all levels of government is required to help ensure the right conditions for creating jobs and reducing unemployment in our communities."

Scottish members of the Campaign to End Child Poverty include Action for Children Scotland, Barnardo's Scotland, Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Children 1st, the Church of Scotland, One Parent Families Scotland, Poverty Alliance and Save the Children.

Scottish council wards with rates of child poverty more than 30%
Local Authority	Ward	Percentage of children living in poverty
SOURCE: End Child Poverty
Aberdeen City	Northfield	35%
	Tillydrone/Seaton/Old Aberdeen	31%
Dundee City	Lochee	31%
	Coldside	31%
	Maryfield	30%
	East End	36%
	North East 3	32%
East Ayrshire	Kilmarnock South	35%
Edinburgh City	Forth	30%
	Sighthill/Gorgie	36%
	Portobello/Craigmillar	30%
Fife	The Lochs	33%
	Kirkcaldy East	32%
	Buckhaven, Methil and Wemyss Villages	40%
Glasgow City	Linn	32%
	Greater Pollok	30%
	Craigton	31%
	Govan	38%
	Southside Central	40%
	Calton	50%
	Anderston/City	37%
	Garscadden/Scotstounhill	36%
	Drumchapel/Anniesland	41%
	Maryhill/Kelvin	31%
	Canal	43%
	Springburn	52%
	East Centre	44%
	Shettleston	31%
	North East 4	38%
Inverclyde	Inverclyde East Central	31%
North Ayrshire	Irvine West	33%
	Saltcoats and Stevenston	35%
North Lanarkshire	Airdrie Central	30%
Renfrewshire	Paisley North West	33%
South Ayrshire	Ayr North	35%
Stirling	Castle	31%
West Dunbartonshire	Clydebank Central	32%