7. CHILD POVERTY FACTS When Labour took office in 1999, Scotland had the worst levels of child and pensioner poverty in the EU . There has been been significant progress since then but now it looks like the government will struggle to meet its target of halving child poverty by 2010 and eradicating it by 2020. According to the Child Poverty Action Group, there are 250,000 children in Scotland living in poverty. Glasgow has come out as the worst city in Scotland for child poverty. The findings are revealed in a new survey which looks at the support and help which is available for families across the country.