TWO local politicians have hit out after a study revealed that as much as 26 per cent of children in East Ayrshire are living in poverty.

MP Sandra Osborne and MSP Adam Ingram have branded the figures in a report conducted on behalf of the Campaign to End Child Poverty a disgrace..

And neighbouring North and South Ayrshire didn’t fare much better. The rate of child poverty in North Ayrshire is 27 per cent whilst in South Ayrshire it is 24 per cent.

As a Parliamentary Constituency, the rate of child poverty in Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock sits at 28 per cent.

The Campaign to End Child Poverty published the figures that provide a child poverty map of the whole of the UK. The figures are broken down by parliamentary constituency, local authority and ward.

The figures reveal the wide disparity in poverty rates across the UK, between regions and striking variations even within regions.

Ms Osborne expressed outrage at the report, which reveals that Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock has one of the highest rates of child poverty in Scotland.

She said: “It is a total disgrace that in this day and age one in five of our children are living in poverty. The figures for East Ayrshire are 26 per cent and for South Ayrshire 24 per cent and in my constituency of Ayr Carrick & Cumnock they are 28 per cent - the second highest level in Scotland outside Glasgow. These figures reveal just how widely and deeply child poverty reaches into our communities, even those areas generally regarded as well off.

“Far too many children whose parents are struggling to make a living are suffering as a result and missing out on the essentials of a decent childhood that all young people should be entitled to. We can and must do better for our children.” “The group also estimates that a further 100,000 could be plunged into poverty as a result of the Tory Lib Dem Coalition Government’s tax and benefit policies. The SNP Scottish Government already have considerable powers to address child poverty in Scotland but of course it has not been in their interests to make a difference while they put everything on pause to fight their failed independence campaign. Now that the independence question has been answered so emphatically it is time to put all our energy into addressing this scandal by electing a Labour Government at Westminster and having a Scottish Government that gets back to doing the job it was elected to do.” Cumnock and New Cumnock’s child poverty rate is also sitting at 28 per cent whilst Doon Valley’s is over 30 per cent.

Mr Ingram also said: “The fact that one in five children live in poverty in a wealthy country like Scotland is quite simply a disgrace. We’re one of the richest countries on earth and yet thousands of children grow up in poverty and inequality continues to grow – this is an unacceptable and unsustainable state of affairs that is only worsening as Westminster’s austerity agenda continues to hit.

“This is exactly why the powers to tackle poverty and inequality should be in Scotland’s hands rather than in the hands of a distant Westminster establishment which is engaged in a systematic and relentless attack on the poor.

“With substantial economic and welfare powers in Scotland’s hands we can take strong action to replace poverty with opportunity and to replace austerity with prosperity – ensuring that every child in Scotland has the same opportunities in life regardless of their background and that Scotland’s wealth is reinvested for the benefit of everyone who lives here.

“For too long poverty has been accepted as an inevitability by Westminster - while Tory and Labour politicians choose to spend tens of billions of pounds on nuclear weapons while cutting the services ordinary people rely on and attacking the welfare state.

“The fact that Tory conference cheered as George Osborne announced his latest round of cuts which will hit working families is a chilling reminder of the attitude of the Westminster parties to social justice – the race to the right between Labour and the Tories amounts to nothing less than a shameless and sustained attack on the poor.” Arthur West, Ayrshire representative of anti austerity campaign, Scottish Peoples Assembly said: “It is heartbreaking to learn from this report that detailed research conducted by Loughborough University shows many children in the UK being brought up in poverty.

“It is also heart breaking that we have a Tory led Government who add to the misery of families living in poverty by freezing benefits and cutting public services.”