Thousands of Highlanders bailed out by crisis food and heating grants from Scottish Welfare Fund, sparking Highland list MSP Maree Todd to slam UK government's era of austerity and 'appalling' changes to benefits
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THOUSANDS of Highland households have had to be bailed out by crisis grants in the past year just so they can eat, new figures have shown.
A Highland MSP has slammed the UK government's "appalling austerity" after the Scottish Welfare Fund's figures came to light.
The Scottish Welfare Fund, which was set up by the Scottish Government to mitigate some of the impact of UK-wide austerity and changes to benefits, made 3720 payments to people in the Highlands in the last financial year in order to help pay for food, heating and household items.
Of that, some 1305 were through Community Care Grants and a further 2415 in Crisis Grants.
Highland regional MSP Maree Todd said the figures were a "sad indictment" of the failure of the UK government in tackling austerity and its failure to protect people from poverty.
SNP MSP Maree Todd said: “The Scottish Welfare Fund is a vital lifeline for many people facing poverty or personal crisis.
“The fact that so many households in Highland are in need of emergency financial help is appalling, and a sad indictment of the UK Government’s record on austerity and welfare changes.
“The SNP would prefer these resources were invested directly to tackle poverty rather than protecting people from Tory austerity.
“Indeed, the UN Special Rapporteur on Poverty described it as outrageous that the Scottish Government had to divert funds to protect people from Westminster’s mess.
“The SNP will continue to do everything in our power to tackle poverty and support low income families. It’s time for the Tories to end their austerity agenda and stop forcing families into poverty.”
The SNP introduced the Scottish Welfare Fund in 2013. The fund is part of a £125 million annual package "to mitigate the impact of UK government austerity".
Since its launch in April 2013, the fund has paid out more than £200 million to support over 336,000 households across Scotland, with a third of recipients being families with children.
The Crisis Grant aims to help people in financial emergency, such as those struggling on low incomes or benefits. Community Care Grant aims to, among other things, help people set up home or help families facing exceptional pressures.
In the UN Special Rapporteur on Poverty, Professor Philip Alston praised Scotland’s “ambitious” schemes for addressing poverty, including the Fairer Scotland Action Plan and the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan. He noted Scotland’s “promising social security system, guided by the principles of dignity and social security as a human right, and co-designed with claimants on the basis of evidence”
The Scottish Government’s response to the Special Rapporteur’s report said it showed UK government welfare cuts had increased the risk of deprivation for low-income families across Scotland.
