THREE quarters of Scots support action to tackle the country’s wealth gap as inequality reaches a near-30 year high, new research suggests.
Polling by YouGov for Oxfam Scotland also found 65 per cent wanted politicians to “do more” to address the issue and 60 per cent wanted an independent body to be set up to find solutions.
According to the Building a More Equal Scotland report, which is out today, the richest ten per cent of the population live in households with a net income of more than £912 per week, rising to £2,608 for the wealthiest one per cent.
Meanwhile, the poorest ten per cent of households live on less than £240 per week.
Analysis also shows the best-off ten per cent hold more than nine times more household wealth than the bottom 40 per cent put together.
The report, produced in partnership with the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University, comes as forecasts suggest this inequality will continue to rise.
Such levels have not been seen since the 1990s and the report, produced in partnership with the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University, comes as forecasts suggest this inequality will continue to rise.
Co-author David Eiser said: “Income inequality in Scotland has returned to high levels last seen in the 1990s and, without action, the gap is forecast to widen further. Many areas of policy which could be used to tackle inequality are in spheres of competence that are devolved to the Scottish Parliament, either wholly or in part.
“This includes education, childcare, housing, economic development policy, but also increasingly elements of taxation and social security.”
At last year’s Holyrood elections, the SNP manifesto committed to creating a Poverty and Inequality Commission. Oxfam Scotland says this body should be politically neutral and produce annual reports, scrutinising progress and policy proposals.
Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “The Scottish Parliament can help narrow the gap in Scotland and it must do more to do so. In its design and ambition, the new Poverty and Inequality Commission must match the scale of the inequality challenge we face.”
Meanwhile, personal insolvencies rose by almost a fifth last year, according to statistics.
Provisional figures from the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) show an increase of 18 per cent on 2015-16, rising by almost 1,500 cases to close to 10,000 in 2016-17.
The number includes those who declared bankruptcy and people who entered protected trust deeds (PTDs).
Tim Cooper, chair of insolvency trade body R3 in Scotland, said: “Inflation is rising while real pay has not kept pace with increases in the price of essentials like food and fuel.”
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