The Scottish Government has published plans to set statutory targets to cut child poverty by 2030.

Ministers hope the improvements ushered in by the Child Poverty (Scotland) Bill will eventually eradicate the problem.

The legislation sets initial targets of cutting the number of children in relative poverty to less than 10% by 2030 and the percentage in absolute poverty to less than 5%.

According to the latest figures, 22% of children live in relative poverty and 21%  in absolute poverty.

Definitions:

Both measurements have fallen in recent years with the absolute poverty figure halving between 1999 and 2015.

Equalities secretary Constance said: "It's utterly unacceptable that one in five children in Scotland live in poverty and this bill sets out statutory targets to reduce and ultimately eradicate child poverty.

"Child poverty has been a systemic problem for decades. Tackling the immense challenge is an ambition all of Scotland - be that national and local government, health boards, businesses, the third sector or others - must work together to overcome.

"We're absolutely committed to tackling the deep-rooted causes of child poverty, addressing the needs of those living in poverty today and preventing future generations from those circumstances."

Scottish Labour housing spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said: "This bill has been launched just days after it emerged the SNP rewrote an independent report on poverty to erase criticism of their cuts.

"[Report author] Naomi Eisenstaedt said that cuts to councils would hit the poorest hardest - but the SNP removed that section and then cut hundreds of millions of pounds from council budgets.

"Right now, as well-intentioned as this bill is, it looks like a parliamentary PR exercise. We know that in some parts of Scotland one in three children grow up in poverty; that Scotland is a divided nation between the rich and the poor."

John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said: "This bill is hugely welcome and could prove to be a turning point in the lives of more than 220,000 children living in poverty in Scotland today.

"The ambitious new targets and the legislative framework that underpins them will help ensure that child poverty remains high on the political agenda and that government is consistently held to account."