One in four children in Scotland live in impoverished households

The Scottish National Party said the level was "unacceptable" despite a fall from a third of children who lived in poverty in 1997.

However, the executive said the figures showed it was lifting people out of poverty across the nation.

The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) welcomed the news but said more must be done to eradicate the problem.

The body called for greater political efforts from politicians in Holyrood and Westminster to help them meet their targets of eradicating child poverty by 2020.

Call for action

John Dickie, head of the CPAG in Scotland, said: "Increased financial support through benefits and tax credits have brought about very real improvements in the living standards of poorer children.

"These figures are a powerful case for further action."

The latest figures were published on Wednesday by the executive and the Department of Work and revealed 260,000, or 25%, of children north of the border live in households with less than 60% of the average income.

This compares to 370,000 youngsters living in similar conditions eight years ago.

Today's average income levels, excluding housing costs, are �297 a week for a couple with no children, giving a poverty threshold figure of �178.

For a couple with two children aged five and 11 the average income is �437, making the poverty threshold �262.

For a single person with two children of that age the average income is �303, making the poverty threshold �182.

The number of adults living in poverty has also fallen with 18% compared to 20% now living in low-income households.

The same goes for pensioners with 18% now living below the poverty line compared to 30% back in 1997.

Lasting change

Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm said: "I'm pleased the figures show that across Scotland more people are being lifted out of poverty.

"There are no quick fixes to tackling poverty and we are in this for the long term.

"We are committed to addressing the challenges, and I believe we are moving towards real and lasting change in Scotland - a transformation in employment prospects, in education and skills, in health, and in people's quality of life."

However, the SNP's communities spokeswoman Christine Grahame said: "Although there is a small decrease this year in the number of individuals living below the breadline, on current levels Labour will fail to meet their target of abolishing child poverty by 2020.

"It is simply unacceptable that one in four children and around one in five adults are living in poverty in modern Scotland.