Low pay, rising housing costs and welfare reforms have been blamed for new figure showing the depth of Scotland's poverty crisis.

Official Scottish Government figures revealed that one in ten of the population are living in severe poverty and one in 24 in extreme poverty.

The government's social justice secretary Alex Neil blamed the UK coalition government's austerity policies but opponents said the SNP should have done more to tackle hardship in Scotland.

The figures showed that of 820,000 people in poverty in Scotland, 510,000 are living in severe poverty and 230,000 face extreme poverty.

They use the measure followed by both UK and Scottish Governments that poverty is a household income of 60 per cent or less than the national median income. Those living on less than 50 per cent of the median are in extreme poverty and the experience of those living on 40 per cent or less is defined as severe poverty.

Taking into account housing costs brought another 200,000 people into the severe poverty bracket and an additional 270,000 could be classified as extremely poor.

Those worst affected were working age adults and children, while pensioners were slightly less likely to be poor.

The Scottish Government said that while the numbers living in relative poverty have fallen, a higher proportion of the remainder now face severe or extreme low income.

Many of those affected were in households where at least one adult was in employment, and more than half of all children living in poverty do so despite the fact that at least one adult in their household is working full time.

Mr Neil added: "It's a disgrace that so many people live in such severe or extreme poverty, but it's an unfortunate and inevitable result of the UK Government's failed austerity agenda and welfare cuts that are slashing incomes for some of our poorest households.

"We have put tackling poverty and inequality at the heart of Government, through policies like the council tax freeze, free prescriptions, expanding childcare provision, while we are mitigating the worst of the welfare cuts."

However Scottish Conservatives spokesman for welfare reform Alex Johnstone MSP said: "It is absolutely scandalous that the Scottish Government are blaming Westminster and taking no responsibility themselves for poverty in Scotland.

"Our welfare reform measures have actually worked in reducing poverty by getting people off benefits and back to work."

Scottish Labour Social Justice Spokesperson Ken Macintosh also called the figures scandalous. "Families are working longer hours, for less pay, but are seeing their household budgets stretched like never before," he said.

He said Labour would tackle poverty by increasing the minimum wage, extending the living wage, banning zero hours contracts and taxing bankers bonuses. "We can only do that with a UK Labour Government," he said.

Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie, a member of Holyrood's economy committee, said: "Hundreds of thousands of working age adults in Scotland are living in poverty. They have been let down by an economic policy pursued by successive governments, wrongly assuming that if we make the rich richer some of that money will trickle down."

The Greens will this week lead a Holyrood debate on in-work poverty, after which they will invite other parties to vote on a motion which calls for a £10 minimum wage for all by 2020.

John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland (CPAG), said: "There is absolutely nothing inevitable about these levels of poverty. They are the result of political and economic decisions to tolerate low pay and insecurity at work and to cut the child benefits and tax credits that families both in and out of work rely on."

Alison Watson, Deputy Director at Shelter Scotland, added: "The high cost of housing is driving many more households into severe or extreme poverty, compounding their hardship. It's time to put housing at the very heart of the political agenda in Scotland to ensure that everyone has access to a safe, secure and affordable home."

Meanwhile a study carried out at Heriot Watt University has warned that Conservative plans to remove housing benefit from unemployed 18-21 year olds would have a catastrophic impact, but save only a fraction of the money predicted. Researchers said the bill for young people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance was around £128m but homelessness resulting from the policy would cause £75 million in additional costs to government.