A decade of Tory austerity has seen the incomes of Scots who rely on benefits plunge by almost 16 per cent, shock figures show.
The spending power of people who claim legacy payments - including many who live with disabilities - have reduced by up to 15.7 per cent since 2010/11 once inflation is included. Universal Credit claimants have also seen their incomes plummet, with a lone parent aged over 25 with one child seeing a reduction in income of 14.3 per cent since 2013/14,
More than 390,000 adults in Scotland claim Universal Credit with many of those already in work. The figures were calculated by the House of Commons Library following a request from the SNP group at Westminster.
It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak comes under increasing pressure from across the political spectrum to commit to raising all benefits - including the state pension - in line with inflation when his government makes a long-awaited financial statement on November 17.
A dad on benefits has told how he often skips meals to ensure his two children are fed. Stuart Chesmar, 50, is unable to work as he is full-time carer for son Charlie, six, who suffers from a heart defect.
He is left with almost no cash after paying bills and feeding Charlie and daughter Kitty, 15. Stuart, from Bute, lost partner Emma, 44, to cancer in September.
He said: “There have been days where I’ve cried because I don’t know how I’ll pay the bills. I have skipped meals so my kids can eat – it’s not an option for them to starve.”
He added: “You can’t live on welfare. A lot of people think you can, but you can’t. I get carer’s allowance, which is £69 per week, but it is taken off my Universal Credit so I’m effectively getting nothing extra for being a carer.”
Kirsty Blackman, SNP Work and Pensions spokeswoman, said the UK Government had "multiple options" to raise money instead of cutting benefits for the most vulnerable.
The Aberdeen North MP said: "These figures show the devastating impact a Tory government and its austerity agenda has had on the incomes of some of the most vulnerable people in Scotland.
"It is shameful that successive Tory governments have repeatedly decided to slash the social security safety net and the financial support of those who need it most, including those who are out of work or in a household with a person with a disability.
"There have been, and continue to be, multiple options open to the Tories to raise money to invest in public services, including scrapping non-dom status and taxing the super wealthy and large corporations who make excess profits.
"I am urging them to take a different approach for a change in the upcoming financial statement by bringing in another, broader windfall tax and uprating Universal Credit and legacy benefits. It is particularly important that those on legacy benefits see an increase in their support given they missed out on the £20 uplift.
"Scotland is on a different path, building a social security system based on dignity, fairness and respect, and we don’t have to continue to put up with the Westminster Tories’ backwards ideology."
Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, warned that increasing all benefits in line with inflation was "a minimum first step" for the UK Government.
He said: "The present costs crisis is part of a decades-long injustice, where wages have been squeezed, employment has become more insecure, and our social security has been deliberately and repeatedly cut to ribbons. Successive UK governments have failed in their moral responsibility to protect people.
"We need to renew and rebuild our social security on the values of compassion and justice, and rebalance our economy so that no household is left without enough to live on.
"A minimum first step is to ensure that all benefits rise in line with inflation next year."
Derek Mitchell, chief executive of Citizens Advice Scotland, said the charity was already "seeing people in increasingly desperate situations making impossible spending choices".
He added: "In just over a week the Chancellor will deliver his Autumn Statement, with gloomy predictions of the UK going back to the austerity economics of the 2010s.
"It’s not clear where further cuts to public spending can be made when people are already struggling so badly.
"Across Scotland, our advisers are seeing people in increasingly desperate situations making impossible spending choices.
"As costs continue to soar, people are faced with flat or falling incomes. In next week’s statement we have to see a commitment to benefits being uprated by at least the cost of living.
"With a recession looming and the possibility of significant job losses, this would be a disastrous time to underfund the safety net. People of all ages, tenures and backgrounds could find themselves relying on it very soon."
A spokeswoman for the DWP: "The UK welfare system offers a vital safety net to millions of people, enabling them to support themselves and their families while building towards financial independence through work.
"This Government is determined to put the needs of the most vulnerable at the heart of everything we do, which is why we’ve delivered at least £1,200 of direct payments to families this year while also saving households an average of £700 this winter through our Energy Price Guarantee.
"This support is on top of the annual working-age benefits bill which is over £87 billion.
"The UK Government has also provided an extra £123 million for the Scottish Government to help vulnerable families at their discretion and this is in addition to the significant welfare powers they already have."
Dad 'skips meals' to ensure kids are fed amid cost of living crisis
A dad on benefits has told how he often skips meals to ensure his two children are fed. Stuart Chesmar, 50, is unable to work as he is full-time carer for son Charlie, six, who suffers from a heart defect.
He is left with almost no cash after paying bills and feeding Charlie and daughter Kitty, 15. Stuart, from Bute, lost partner Emma, 44, to cancer in September.
He said: “There have been days where I’ve cried because I don’t know how I’ll pay the bills. “I have skipped meals so my kids can eat – it’s not an option for them to starve.”
He added: “You can’t live on welfare. A lot of people think you can, but you can’t. I get carer’s allowance, which is £69 per week, but it is taken off my Universal Credit so I’m effectively getting nothing extra for being a carer.”
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