More than one in five children across parts of the Scottish Highlands are now living in poverty, according to a major new report highlighting growing inequality and worsening living conditions for families.
Research published by NHS Highland found that 21.9% of children under the age of five in the Highland and Argyll & Bute regions are living in relative poverty — a figure that has remained unchanged since 2010.
The report warned that thousands of children across northern Scotland are being affected by poor housing, financial hardship and reduced access to healthcare and support services.
Among the key findings, tooth decay among five-year-olds in the most deprived communities has reached almost 43%, while childhood vaccination rates have fallen since 2020.
Health officials warned that declining vaccination uptake leaves vulnerable communities at greater risk of disease outbreaks.
Jennifer Davies, who led the report, called for urgent action to tackle child poverty and inequality across the region.
“The solutions to this don’t lie in one sector or with one organisation,” she said.
“And the solutions necessarily need to be about a collaboration that goes beyond maybe what we’ve been doing to this point.”
Davies added: “Being able to act early and act with equity and acting collaboratively would be the three calls to action from my perspective.”
The report outlined a five-point action plan focused on poverty prevention, family support, childcare access, healthy food provision and improvements to housing and transport services.
Local charities say the cost-of-living crisis has intensified pressure on families across rural communities.
Highland Action for Little Ones, known as HALO, has supported thousands of parents struggling to afford essentials such as clothing, bedding and food.
The charity also operates support groups for young mothers across the Highlands.
Kym Turner described the support as life-changing.
“It gives you a safe space to talk about things and get other opinions and almost validation that you’re doing well when sometimes you think you’re not,” she said.
HALO co-founder Lauren Thomson urged the Scottish Government not to overlook rural communities.
“Don’t forget about the Highlands. We have rural communities here,” she said.
“Everybody matters and every child deserves to thrive and they need the essentials to do that.”
Alasdair Christie said low incomes remain the main driver behind child poverty in the region.
“Income today is just not sufficient to easily maintain a reasonable cost, or to mitigate the cost of living and to provide reasonable expenses for families to put food on the table,” he said.
In response, the Scottish Government said tackling child poverty remains a priority and claimed its policies are expected to keep around 100,000 children out of relative poverty this year.
Ministers also announced plans to increase the Scottish child payment to £40 per week for eligible children under one by 2027–28, alongside new funding for charities, childcare and school breakfast clubs.