24,000 families in Scotland ‘face severe disadvantage’

A think-tank report said that 24,000 families in Scotland – 4 per cent of the total population of families with children – faced severe disadvantage (defined as having four or more disadvantages out of a list of seven that included low income, worklessness, no qualifications, and ill-health). Unmarried households with children were 6 times more likely to be severely disadvantaged than married households (8.5 per cent compared with 1.4 per cent). Households experiencing severe disadvantage were also more likely to live in large urban areas (50 per cent) and social rented housing (77 per cent).