Kate Forbes has defended the package of support to help with the cost of living crisis against criticism that it does not target Scots most in need.
Leading charities have blasted the Scottish Finance Secretary’s announcement to pass on the £150 Treasury discount on energy bills to all households in Scotland in council tax bands A to D.
The scheme copies emergency plans announced by Tory chancellor Rishi Sunak for homes in England.
But the distribution to three quarters of Scottish households has been described by Poverty Alliance Scotland as a “deeply disappointing” measure that does to “properly target” support for those on the lowest incomes.
But Forbes said that while she did not think the £150 rebate to most council taxpayers in the country was a “perfect scheme”, it was the quickest way to get money to hard-pressed consumers.
Forbes told BBC Scotland: “Ultimately this is a question of how we deliver support quickly to families who needed it yesterday.”
“We could design a perfect scheme that would take a number of months to deliver, but my priority is to try to get that money out of the door quickly.”
Forbes also said the plans “needed to be seen in the context of more targeted support” which offers funds to people who find they cannot afford to pay bills.
The SNP MSP said other benefits available to help those most in need as the cost of living crisis bites, including a winter support fund and a boost to the child payment.
She admitted the council tax rebate, which will be given to households in bands A to D, will reach those who might not need it “but it is the only route we have to make sure we reach those for whom it will make a difference quickly and simply”.
The £290 million Scottish scheme, part of a £9 billion UK-wide package of measures to offset rising energy costs, has been criticised by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Poverty Alliance, who said more support should have been targeted at low-income households.
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