Campaigners said too many children were still living in poverty

The figures show there were 100,000 fewer children living in poverty in Scotland between 1998 and 2004.

Despite the reduction, campaigners and the Scottish National Party said more needed to be done.

Nationalists said it was disgraceful that one in four children were living in poverty. The executive has pledged to eradicate child poverty by 2020.

Commenting on the Households Below Average Income figures, Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm said the executive had met its initial poverty target.

"Across Scotland, more people are being lifted out of poverty," he said.

We have met our initial target to reduce the number of children living in low income by a quarter Malcolm Chisholm Communities Minister

"We have met our initial target to reduce the number of children living in low income by a quarter.

"Between 1998 and 2004, 100,00 fewer children were living in relative low-income households - that's 100,000 fewer children held back through lack of opportunities.

"We will continue to work with the UK Government as we focus on our challenging target of ending child poverty by 2020."

However, the Child Poverty Action Group urged ministers at both Holyrood and Westminster to do more.

'Poverty scandal'

Spokesman John Dickie said: "Despite the progress that's been made in recent years, 240,000 children in Scotland and 3.4 million across Great Britain still live in poverty.

"In a country as rich as ours, that's a scandal.

"It's not enough, but without this ambitious target and the extra resources government has committed to tackling child poverty, it's unlikely that such progress would ever have been made."

SNP social justice spokeswoman Christine Grahame said: "It's disgraceful that in an energy rich country such as Scotland one in four children are still living in poverty.

'Little impact'

"The target set by ministers should have given them more than enough room to end child poverty, but it is clear from their own figures that most of the children living in poverty today will be fully grown adults by the time 2020 comes around."

Douglas Hamilton, policy chief for Save the Children in Scotland, welcomed the progress made in Scotland.

"But the figures released today are still not something to be proud of," he said.

"Scratch beneath the headline figures and there is still the scandal of 240,000 - or one in four - children living in poverty in Scotland in the 21st Century.