Poverty has played a significant role in the independence debate.

The Yes campaign has made frequent use of foodbanks as a shorthand for the way Westminster policies are failing Scotland. Meanwhile, Ed Miliband has fought a rearguard campaign to convince Labour voters social justice is best achieved by sticking with the Union.

The battle is being fought with the impact of austerity already being felt but also with knowledge there is probably worse to come in the way of cuts.

A report published last week by former Dundee Council chief executive David Dorward has highlighted the impact on that city, where around a quarter of children already live in poverty.

Mr Dorward describes families who cannot afford to replace beds, and siblings who are therefore forced to share sleeping arrangements. Large numbers of families struggle to maintain a decent living standard, the report says.

In a previous report, Mr Dorward had warned of widening health differences between relatively poorer and more affluent areas of Dundee.

Last week's report says the extent and the impact of poverty on families has continued to increase since 2012 - despite considerable efforts to alleviate deprivation in the city by the council and others.

Inevitably in the current climate, members of the council's ruling SNP group have argued independence is necessary to help solve the problems. The Labour opposition has in turn accused them of playing politics with the study. But many observers, including charities working on the frontline, appear to recognise that neither referendum outcome guarantees a simple solution.

Dundee's problems are only mirrored in poor communities across Scotland, where changes to policies such as the bedroom tax or punitive use of benefit sanctions might help but can't in isolation "solve" poverty.

Mr Dorward's report proposes something different - a Fairness Commission which would explore new ways of addressing the problem and come up with a plan by bringing together all the experts, including those in poverty themselves.

The idea has been tried in other places, including Islington, Sheffield and Plymouth and seems worth considering. The ongoing impact of recession and austerity policies is going to need urgent action across Scotland, whatever the outcome of Thursday's vote.