Just half of Scotland's households have access to broadband, a new report from the country's government has revealed.

Despite efforts being made to improve broadband access in the UK, the latest Scottish Household Survey revealed that just 54 per cent of residences north of the border had a subscription in 2007-08.

Worryingly, that number dropped further to 27 per cent among the lowest earning households, compared to 90 per cent of those in the top-earning bracket.

The survey, which is completed every year to provide a gauge of living standards in Scotland, also indicated that more people have an internet connection in rural areas than in large urban areas.

This further reinforces the suggestion that the lowest-income households are struggling to afford broadband connections.

Last month, Digital Inclusion Champion Martha Lane Fox vowed to do as much as possible to spread broadband to the six million Britons still without it, despite only having been allocated £2 million to do so.