NEARLY half of people in receipt of Universal Credit ran out of food in the last month, according to the latest figures from the Trussell Trust.
The anti-poverty charity - which runs 43 food banks in Scotland - found that 48% of people who receive Universal Credit ran out of food in the last month.
The latest report also found that 68% of households in receipt of the benefit have gone without essentials in the last six months.
Of those surveyed, almost one quarter of people (22%) were forced to use a food bank in the last year, while almost one half (46%) said they were either behind on bills and credit commitments or are finding it a “constant struggle” to keep up with them.
It comes as Labour is coming under increasing pressure over its refusal to lift the two-child benefit cap first introduced under the Tories, and the scrapping of the Winter Fuel Payment for those not in receipt of benefits.
In his first major speech as Prime Minister, Keir Starmer warned that “things will get worse before we get better”, with further cuts expected in the upcoming Autumn Budget.
Cuts are also set to be announced in Scotland on Tuesday, as Finance Secretary Shona Robison hit out at Labour for a “whole new era of austerity”.
The UK Government’s move to make the Winter Fuel Payment means-tested has meant the Scottish Government has been left with "no choice” but to replicate the decision in Scotland.
An estimated 31% of households were in fuel poverty in Scotland in 2019, according to figures from the Scottish Government.
According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Universal Credit must be at least £120 a week for people to afford essentials, meaning that the standard allowance for people aged 25 and over falls short by around £30 every week.
For people aged 25 and under, the charity estimated that the shortfall is around £48 every week.
Speaking to the Big Issue, Trussell Trust chief executive Emma Revie said the figures expose the “stark truth” of poverty in the UK.
“The inadequacy of universal credit means that people are being pushed to the doors of food banks because they simply do not have enough money for food,” she said.
“These findings show clearly that people cannot wait for an economic turnaround to improve their current situations.”
Meanwhile, Elaine Morrison, a food bank manager in East Lothian, described the figures as unsurprising.
“[They] reflect what we are seeing at our food bank on a daily basis – 80% of those who use our food bank are in receipt of universal credit and 20% are struggling with debt,” she said.
To find out more information about the Trussell Trust, click here.
