Fifth of Scots households 'living on less than £10,000'

ONE in five Scottish households is having to get by on less than £10,000 a year, according to figures published yesterday.

A survey showed 21 per cent of those questioned have a four-figure net household income – the equivalent of less than £834 a month.

A further 20 per cent of households have an income of between £10,000 and £15,000, with pensioners, single parents and single adult households the most likely to fall into the lower-income brackets.

At the other end of the scale, only 10 per cent of households have a net yearly income of more than £40,000. Separate statistics showed 41 per cent of households do not have any savings or investments.

The figures are contained in the 2007 Scottish Household Survey annual report, published yesterday by the Scottish Government. It aims to provide a snapshot of life in Scotland and an indication of various social trends.

However, the statistics also showed that almost half the population of the most deprived areas of the country still smoke, while smokers account for only one in eight of those in Scotland's affluent areas.

In the most deprived areas, 43 per cent of the population smoke, while in the least deprived areas that figure dropped to just 12 per cent.

The number of smokers in Scotland has fallen consistently since devolution. In 1999, 30.4 per cent of Scots smoked. By 2007, this had dropped to 24.7 per cent.

But while the effect of this fall has been most pronounced among the most affluent in the population, smoking rates have remained stubbornly high among the poor.

Sheila Duffy, chief executive of the anti-smoking group Ash Scotland, said more needed to be done to "narrow the gap between the haves and have-nots in our society".

She said: "The Scottish Government has signalled strong intentions to reduce smoking uptake amongst young people and improve the health of Scotland's people in the future, with the publication of the Smoking Prevention Action Plan. It must also address the health divide between our communities if Scotland is to banish its reputation as the sick man of Europe."

Richard Simpson, Labour's public health spokesman, urged ministers to target resources on the most deprived areas.

He said: "The crucial thing is for smoking cessation services to be focused on areas of multiple deprivation. There are huge numbers of smokers in these areas, and you have to have effective outreach services to get to the people who are not going to clinics."