MORE than 100 health experts have written an open letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon demanding that more needs to be done to tackle child poverty in Scotland.

The Scottish Child Payment increased to a £25 weekly payment from £20 and was extended to include eligible children up to age 16 on Monday.

But the letter’s 136 signatories have said that a clearer commitment to reduce child poverty and inequalities is needed.

By 2019, before the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis hit, more than one in four of Scotland’s children were found to be living in poverty, according to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

The letter outlines recommendations to improve outcomes for children and young people, including ensuring all measures in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act — which sets out targets for reducing the number of children living in poverty — are appropriately resourced and funded.

In response to the letter, Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said that tackling child poverty is a national mission for the government and that it is “already using all the powers and resources available.”