SCOTTISH Ministers have delayed publishing the most detailed study of poverty north of the border until after next year’s Holyrood election.

The three-yearly Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) has been postponed due to what the Government says is a re-jigging of the geographical boundaries central to the work.

Labour MSP Neil Findlay said he feared the delay was caused by the Government wanting to avoid political embarrassment.

The SIMD is a ground-breaking initiative used to pinpoint the worst-affected areas for deprivation.

The online tool, which can be used by anyone with access to the internet, divides Scotland into 6,505 “datazones” each containing 350 households.

It effectively ranks areas in a league table of poverty based on employment, income, health, education, access to services, crime and housing.

The most deprived areas in the last study were Ferguslie Park in Paisley, as well as Keppochhill, Parkhead West and Possil Park in Glasgow. Craiglockhart in Edinburgh was found to be the least deprived zone.

The SIMD can be used to target policies at the areas with greatest need for specialist support and is a valuable resource for researchers.

However, the SNP administration has become embroiled in a row over whether the next SIMD has been put back for political purposes.

The Index was published in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012, but a civil service email obtained by this newspaper shows that the next SIMD is planned for May 2016.

So-called purdah rules, which restrict Government activity during an election campaign, mean the Index will be published after the election on May 5.

The SNP Government has been dogged by criticisms that some of its flagship policies, such as the council tax freeze, disproportionately benefit the middle class at the expense of low income workers.

The Government has said that the SIMD was put back because a consultation on the datazones went on longer than anticipated.

The Measuring Deprivation Advisory Group (MDAG), set up to provide advice on the Index, wanted the next publication to be based on the new geographical areas. The Government has ten appointees among the 27 MDAG members.

Labour MSP Neil Findlay said: "If we are serious about cutting the gap between the richest and the rest we need to fully understand the picture of poverty in Scotland. This is too important to be delayed because it is politically embarrassing for the SNP.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The next SMID will be published in 2016. A consultation around changes to the geographical data zones went on longer than anticipated which led to the 2015 SIMD being delayed.

“The date was backed by the Measuring Deprivation Advisory Group made up of local authorities, NHS, Police and Fire, academics and other experts. They pressed for the publication to be based on new data zones that would more accurately reflect Scotland’s people and places. Consequently, we took the decision to delay SIMD which was approved by the Chief Statistician and our Advisory Group.”