East Dunbartonshire and Glasgow have been rated at opposite ends of the scale in a new survey which identifies the most family friendly place in Scotland.

The council area which includes leafy Bearsden and Milngavie has come top in a survey of places in Scotland which area ideal for family life.

East Renfrewshire, which includes Newton Mearns and Giffnock, came second, while Orkney was in third. Shetland finished fourth and Aberdeenshire fifth.

The poll was carried out by the Family and Childcare Trust's as part of its annual UK-wide study into family life.

East Dunbartonshire has consistently ranked top of surveys for its low levels of deprivation, relatively low unemployment and low crime levels.

However, the charity found that Glasgow was the least family friendly place, with North Lanarkshire and Dundee also in the bottom three.

It carried out a survey of people across the UK, which it graded according to the responses it received.

The charity concluded that overall, many areas offer a lack of help to make families thrive. It awarded the Conservative Government a poor grade, D, for its work in helping families.

Of those surveyed in Scotland, nobody awarded an A grade, while only eight per cent awarded the Government a grade B for family friendliness.

The charity's annual families report card, produced in conjunction with the YouGov polling organisation, examined national and local data across four different categories, including financial resources and work life balance along with housing.

Grades north of the Border were consistently lower than everywhere else in Britain on the issues of housing, work-life balance and wages and benefits.

The low grade is in spite of the new Family Test introduced by David Cameron last year requiring all new laws and policies to make sure they support ‘strong and stable’ families.

Julia Margo, chief executive at the Family and Childcare Trust said: “While the Government should be applauded for its ambitious plans to help families with the cost of childcare and extending parental leave to grandparents, it’s clear that many parents feel other Government policies on housing, wages and benefits are far from family friendly.

“If this was a school report, a D grade would represent a poor result. Failure to tackle soaring housing costs and the cuts to working tax credits will see the UK move backwards as a family friendly nation, unless action is taken now."

The report coincides with Family Friendly Week.