Poverty creates an 'aspiration gap'

YOUNG people from the poorest families in Scotland and across Britain fear that they will achieve few or none of their goals in life, according to new research.

The Broke But Not Broken report from the Prince's Trust and the Royal Bank of Scotland has found that many young people living on the edge despair of finding a decent job or buying a house. One-in-four from poor homes said "people like them" did not succeed in life.

According to the report, based on interviews with 2,311 16-to-24-year-olds from across the country, young people growing up in poverty are significantly less likely to imagine themselves buying a nice house or even finding a job in the future.

They are three times as likely to believe they will “end up on benefits for at least part of their life” and almost four times as likely to think they will “end up in a dead-end job” .

More than one in six of those from poor homes (16 per cent) say their family and friends have made fun of them when they talk about finding a good job.

But the despair can be addressed through empowerment, change and getting young people's voices heard - as Scotland's Poverty Truth Commission has argued.