A THIRD of Scots have no savings or pensions according to a new report which paints the most comprehensive picture yet of the gulf between rich and poor.

The Scottish Government study found the poorest 30 per cent of Scots own just two per cent of the personal wealth in the country.

By contrast, the wealthiest 10 per cent own 44 per cent of assets. A super elite of the top two per cent owned 17 per cent of the private wealth in the country.

Total personal wealth in Scotland, made up of private pensions, property, personal belongings and savings, amounted to £714billion in 2010 to 2012, the period covered by the report.

Campaigners last night called for a radical overhaul of policy-making, as they warned of the long term costs of "leaving behind" hundreds of thousands of families.

Alex Neil, the Social Justice Secretary, said the gap between rich and poor was "not right".

He insisted tackling inequality was at the heart of the Scottish Government's programme but said UK Government spending cuts had a disproportionate effect on the least well off.

The Wealth and Assets in Scotland report showed single adults and lone parents were more likely than other groups to be poor.

Younger households were also more likely to be poor, having had less time to build up assets.

Nearly half the households in the poorest 30 per cent were headed by someone in work, suggesting many in employment struggled to make ends meet.

The biggest slice of personal wealth was tied up in pensions, accounting for 42 per cent.

It was followed by property (32 per cent), personal belongings (14 per cent) and savings (12 per cent).

The wealthiest 10 per cent of people in Scotland owned 55 per cent of pensions assets and 75 per cent of savings.

The report presented an analysis of previously published UK figures to show the picture in Scotland.

It was accompanied by a separate study showing a hardening of public attitudes towards poverty and people on benefits.

It found seven out of 10 Scots believed child poverty was caused by "individual factors" such as parents being unwilling to work.

Around a third of people felt benefits recipients should feel ashamed to claim state support.

John Dickie, the head of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland and a leading anti-poverty campaigner, said: "There is absolutely nothing inevitable about these extraordinary levels of wealth inequality.

"They are the result of political, social and economic decisions we as a society have taken but too often they play out as massive inequalities in the education, health and wellbeing of our children.

"Without adequate incomes poorer families struggle to build up any savings or assets, and struggle to pay rising rents whilst the better off reap the benefits of property ownership.

"We need to see politicians at every level make different decisions, prioritise support for families, make work pay, reduce the cost of housing and give all parents the chance to build up the assets they need to protect themselves and their children.

"If we don't act now we store up huge costs for the future and another generation will suffer the consequences of being left behind."

Jamie Livingstone, the head of Oxfam Scotland, welcomed a finding showing that 83 per cent of people in Scotland felt the gap between rich and poor was too high.

He added: "The growing political consensus on this issue in Scotland is encouraging but all parties must now work together to put in place measures to reduce inequality."

Mr Neil said: "It's not right that the wealthiest 10 per cent of households have 20 times more wealth than the least wealthy 30 per cent.

"We need concerted action to tackle inequality, yet even the UK Government's own analysis shows that households with the lowest incomes are bearing a greater burden from public spending cuts - an astonishing admission that austerity is hitting the poorest the hardest."

He highlighted the Scottish Government's council tax freeze and expansion of free childcare as evidence of its support for those on low incomes.

The Scottish Government plans to appoint a poverty tsar - an Independent Adviser on Poverty and Inequality - to highlight difficulties faced by those struggling to get by and to reduce the stigma faced by benefits claimants.