Despite endless initiatives aimed at halting economic decline, the most deprived communities in Scotland remain among the poorest in the country five years after they were identified, a damning report has revealed.

Four out of five neighbourhoods classed as among the most deprived 15 per cent nationally in 2004 were still among the most deprived 15 per cent this year, according to statistics published by the Scottish Government.

Across Scotland, 743,218 people live in the most deprived areas, with almost half — 312,865 — also classed as income deprived.

The number of income-deprived people has risen compared with previous reports in 2004 and 2006, with one in six people defined as income- deprived nationally and almost one in two in the poorest areas.

The figures, contained in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, will raise questions about the effectiveness of policies formulated at both Holyrood and Westminster to lift the most disadvantaged out of poverty.

The latest report uses data from 2006 to 2008 and incorporates figures on unemployment, income, health, education, housing and crime.

Although Glasgow, renowned as being one of the poorest cities in Europe, is showing some signs of improvement, the local authority continues to contain the highest levels of multiple deprivation. Parkhead/Barrowfield, in the Shettleston area of the city, is classed as the most deprived community in Scotland and 43 per cent of neighbourhoods in the city are among the most deprived nationally, down from 48 per cent in 2006.

The four authorities with the next biggest proportions of deprivation are Inverclyde (39.1 per cent), Dundee (30.7 per cent), West Dunbartonshire (26.3 per cent) and North Ayrshire (25 per cent).

Glasgow comes out worst in almost every category of individual indicators, with 18 per cent of the working-age population classed as employment deprived, compared with 12 per cent nationally. In contrast, Aberdeenshire has the smallest concentration of its working-age population unemployed, at 6 per cent.

The largest concentration of income deprivation is in Glasgow, which contains almost a third (31 per cent) of the most deprived communities nationally, although this represents a fall compared with 2006 (34 per cent). The next largest shares are in North Lanarkshire (8 per cent) and Fife (6 per cent).Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board has the largest proportion of the most health-deprived communities in Scotland — at 45 per cent — a slight fall compared with 2006 (49 per cent). Glasgow City Council has the highest proportion of communities defined as educationally deprived, at 40 per cent.

By contrast, the least deprived neighbourhood in Scotland is Banchory, in Aberdeenshire. Two local authority areas, the Western Isles and Shetlands, did not have any of the country’s most deprived neighbourhoods.

Opposition parties strongly criticised the Nationalists over the figures, claiming that they were slashing budgets intended to tackle poverty.

Frank McAveety, the Labour MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, said that Edinburgh and London needed to work together to produce better results.

He said: “The decision to reduce the social housing budget in Glasgow will not help,” he said. “Investing in housing would not just produce better homes but also real job opportunities, which is what is desperately needed.”

Ross Finnie, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, said: “These statistics show progress, but much more must be done to ensure every child gets the best possible start in life.”

Robin Tennant, of the Poverty Alliance, the anti-poverty campaign group, said: “One in five people and one in four children in Scotland experience poverty — not enough work has been done.”

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