SNP MSP Graeme Dey has slammed the UK government’s cuts to welfare, after new figures revealed that foodbank use in Angus has risen since last year.
Between 1st April 2018 and 30th September 2018, foodbanks in Angus in The Trussell Trust network provided three day emergency food supplies to 1,903 people.
Foodbank use in Scotland has risen by 15% between April and September compared to the same period in 2017. Foodbank providers have said the rise is largely due to the in-built minimum wait of five weeks for a first payment for those migrated to Universal Credit – with many more people forced to wait even longer than five weeks.
Britain’s biggest foodbank provider, the Trussell Trust, has called for ‘urgent changes’ to Universal Credit – while the SNP have consistently called for a halt to the roll-out of the scheme.
Last week, the United Nationals Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights visited the UK to investigate the impact of austerity.
Commenting on the figures, Graeme Dey said:
“These are truly heart-breaking figures for Angus, which bring into sharp focus the devastating impact the Tory government is having on our local community.
“The fact that foodbank use is growing across Scotland is a clearly damning indictment of UK government cuts to welfare, and the botched roll-out of Universal Credit.
“While sustained Tory cuts have created this problem, we can see that where Universal Credit has rolled out it has made things worse – which is why the roll out of UC must be halted, so the fundamental flaws can be addressed.
“I see the impact of Tory benefit cuts on a daily basis in my constituency, and the Tories have shown time and time again that they cannot be trusted with social security in Scotland.
“Only with full powers over social security can we begin to mitigate the effects of this disaster of a UK Government, in order to make Scotland an equal country with a dignified and fair welfare system.”
