Poverty figures released this week were nothing short of damning.

In Glasgow, almost one in four children are living in poverty and it is undoubtedly increasing.

In some areas it is even worse, with 46% in the Southside constituency, represented by the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

Other areas are almost as bad. Shettleston, which always features high on any poverty list, has 42% and Kelvin, which includes parts of the city centre and west end, 41%.

The Kelvin figure may be a surprise to some but as well as covering some poorer pockets the constituency is home to a huge number of families trapped in private rented accommodation, at the mercy of high rents in poorly maintained flats which will come with high heating bills.

Read more: Nicola Sturgeon's Glasgow constituency has Scotland's highest poverty rate

The matter was rightly raised at First Minister’s Questions, not just regarding the communities which make up Glasgow Southside, which are suffering from multiple complex problems, but in Glasgow overall.

Sadly, the answer was as predictable as the statistics themselves.

The First Minister agreed that there are too many children living in poverty.

However, just like Labour using the fact that Ms Sturgeon is the MSP for the area in the city with the highest poverty level, Ms Sturgeon couldn’t resist a kick at the political football either.

In pointing to Wales, where Labour is in power, having an increase in the last year, Ms Sturgeon was playing the ‘there’s always someone else worse off’ card.

If you are a parent in any part of Glasgow, regardless of who your MSP or MP is, you don’t really care that there is a slightly higher or lower percentage of people in Wales, or anywhere else, suffering the same as you and your children are.

All you know and care about is that you worry about feeding your children the next day, paying your electric bill when it is due and fretting as you watch your child’s feet grow wondering how soon they will need new shoes.

Ms Sturgeon is right to point to the current UK government’s policies as putting many more families into poverty and preventing those already suffering from escaping.

Read more: Shock figures reveal areas with highest levels of poverty in Glasgow

The benefit cuts and sanctions regime has done damage on a titanic scale to the poorest people in the country.

And the Scottish Government has acted in cases to mitigate the damage caused .

But where there are powers to help children and adults out of poverty they should be used. The income supplement is not yet ready to be implemented and should be a priority.

There is also the opportunity to increase child benefit by £5 a week, which for many families who are struggling could be the difference between food on the table for the whole family.

The opportunity has not been taken because it is argued that it would benefit many families who do not need it. If that was applied to other benefits, there would be no free tuition and no free prescriptions where people benefit who could afford to pay.

In refusing to use this power the Scottish Government is denying help to families who desperately need it now. The current UK Government is clearly the biggest culprit in pushing people into poverty but it can’t be used as an excuse for not acting wherever possible to help those who need it most.

Every tier of Government, whether it be local, Scottish or UK should be acting to reduce poverty.

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The fact that one tier is actively making the problem worse is shameful but it doesn’t mean the others don’t act.