The candidates vying to become the UK’s next Prime Minister have been criticised for being “silent” on child poverty and cost of living concerns by Stirling’s MSP.
Evelyn Tweed has raised her criticism in the wake of two reports last week highlighting the challenges being faced by families living on the breadline both in Stirling and across Scotland.
Data from Citizens Advice Scotland published on Thursday revealed that the number of people requiring advice on food banks went up by close to a third - 31 per cent - since September 2021; while advice on Universal Credit sanctions went up by more than 50 per cent in the same period.
The CAB report outlines that 1.8m people in Scotland were made worse off by the pandemic, while one in three found their energy prices unaffordable even before the most recent increase in the energy price cap.
It follows on from figures from the End Child Poverty Coalition - reported in the Observer last week - which revealed that almost 2,700 children were living in poverty in Stirling at the end of March 2021.
The Loughborough University report recorded that 2,698 children were assessed to be in poverty in that period, representing 18 per cent of kids in the region 15 years old or younger.
The 2021 figure actually represented an improvement on the difficult statistics reported during the pandemic, when just under 3,300 children in Stirling were assessed to be on the breadline.
Ms Tweed said: “It is utterly shameful to see such an increase in foodbank use in a place as wealthy as the UK.
“Yet, sadly, it’s not surprising that there are families in Stirling struggling to get by as prices continue to rise because Westminster fails to take any meaningful action to help.
“Every single Tory leadership candidate is silent on the matter of child poverty and the cost of living crisis.
“The Scottish Government is doing all it can with the powers at its disposal to support households through these tough times.
“Research shows these actions are making a real difference to those in Stirling who are struggling, but these efforts are constantly fighting against cruel Westminster policies which simply do not have the Scottish people’s interests at heart.”
“The Tories silence on poverty has been deafening and it’s clear that the last thing people in Stirling need is a different Prime Minister - what we need is a different future.”
