Desperate families need extra £20 a week

SIX in 10 Scots families on Universal Credit or Child Tax Credit have had to borrow money since the start of the pandemic, says a study.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Save the Children found that 86 per cent of parents on those benefits had faced extra household costs, while 46 per cent reported a fall in income since March.

Seventy-one per cent of families said they had cut back on food and other essentials.

And 60 per cent of families on Universal Credit said they had been forced to borrow, including using overdrafts, credit cards or payday loans.

The two charities want an urgent, temporary £20-aweek increase to the child element of Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits from the UK Government.

Jim McCormick, of the Foundation, said: “Many families simply haven’t got the income they need to weather the storm.”

Claire Telfer, of Save the Children, added: “It’s simply not right that parents in Scotland are having to make impossible choices about whether to put food on the table or money on the electricity meter.”

A UK Government spokeswoman said: “We injected £6.5billion into the welfare system, including increasing Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit by up to £1040 a year, as well as rolling out income protection schemes, mortgage holidays and additional support for renters.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We are doing all we can to help tens of thousands of households.

“We have committed a further £27.6million to support those in need, including the extension of free school meals over the summer, in addition to a £350million package of communities funding.”