MORE than half of people in Scotland back more financial support and debt relief for the nation’s poorest, according to a new study.

A survey by market research agency nfpResearch commissioned by children’s charity Aberlour found that 56 per cent of respondents backed more action to combat the poverty that blights the lives of one in four young people in Scotland.

Less than fortnight before the Scottish government publishes its draft Budget, the survey also found 56 per cent supported boosting the Scottish child payment from £27 to £40 a week, and 83 per cent backed extending free school meals.