FAMILIES HAVE TO BORROW CASH TO PAY FOR FUNERALS SO POOR WE CAN’T BURY OUR LOVED ONES

A damning report has lifted the lid on the shocking levels of poverty across Renfrewshire.

A rise in the number of hard-up families seeking financial aid, fuel support and visiting foodbanks has been recorded over the past year.

And in some desperate cases, ‘funeral poverty’ payments are being made to help grief-stricken residents bury loved ones.

The full scale of crippling debts and financial hardship across communities has been laid bare in the stark report by the Renfrewshire Tackling Poverty Commission.

It will be presented to members of the Leadership Board in Paisley on Tuesday afternoon. The commission found;  1,758 Universal Credit claims were made by low income families seeking to supplement benefits, with 512 new referrals;

 Financial crisis prevention offered to