The sheer scale of inequality in Scotland still has the power to shock.

Analysis published yesterday shows the top two per cent of households own nearly one fifth of all private wealth in Scotland, while the least wealthy half of all households own just nine per cent. Most of those households have no savings, no private pensions and very few possessions.

This comes a week after news that one Scot in 10 lives in severe poverty - that's in a household with an income of less than £11,500, half the UK average.

These aren't just statistics. As an MSP, all too often I meet desperate people needing my help, often with no money to feed or clothe their children. I recently spoke to one person who had beans on toast for their Christmas dinner. It's outrageous.

Having a job doesn't necessarily help. Almost half of our least wealthy households are headed by someone in employment, meaning a job is no longer any protection against poverty or the associated security that employment can bring, such as buying a house or saving for the future.

How can it be right that the wealthiest 10 per cent of households have 20 times more wealth than the least wealthy 30 per cent? It's not right, and separate research also published yesterday finds four out of five people agree that the gap between the richest and poorest is too big.

This research also highlights limited knowledge and understanding of poverty and welfare issues, while one third of people think that benefit recipients should feel ashamed. Views like that stigmatise the most vulnerable and can scare people in genuine need from claiming the benefits they are entitled to. That needs to change.

The First Minister has put tackling inequalities at the heart of the Scottish Government's programme. International evidence shows that countries with more equal societies typically enjoy stronger and more sustainable growth over the long run.

So alongside continued, cross-government action to tackle disadvantage, Nicola Sturgeon will shortly appoint an I

independent adviser on poverty and inequality. That person will raise awareness of the realities of living in poverty and make recommendations on how to break the cycle of poverty.

Where the Scottish Government has powers, it is making a difference for those on low income. We have boosted childcare, frozen the council tax for eight years and we not only pay the living wage, we encourage every employer to follow suit. We also want to raise educational attainment and see more university entrants come from the most disadvantaged communities.

Yet we still have to spend more than £100 million a year just to mitigate the UK's welfare reforms, such as the punitive bedroom tax and cuts to the council tax reduction scheme. That means we're putting some of the money back into people's pockets that's been taken out by Westminster. How much better would it be to spend that money on genuinely improving people's lives?

Even the UK Government's own analysis shows that the lowest income households bear a greater burden from public spending cuts than the average household, hitting the poorest hard and locking generations into a perpetual cycle of poverty.

It's why we called for the full devolution of social security so that we could create a more aligned system that joins up welfare and employment.

With 11 social security benefits in areas such as sickness and disability, accounting for around £2.5 billion in expenditure set to be devolved, we have an opportunity to do things differently. I welcome these new powers and it's critical we seize the opportunity to improve lives where we can.

In the coming months, I'll be out and about talking to people about the details and listening to them on benefits, to community organisations and to national groups with an interest. I want to hear ideas on how we can use the new powers to maximum effect, matching people's needs and ambitions with existing devolved services.

My vision is to build a socially just welfare system that supports our most vulnerable people; one that helps, not hinders, those in greatest need and respects the dignity of the most disadvantaged.

Alex Neil is Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioner's Rights