400 referred to food banks
Jump from 20 in 2012
More than 400 people were last year referred by Stirling Council to food banks, latest figures have indicated.
It’s the largest number directed by the authority to food banks since 2012 when there were only 20 referrals.
Data also shows a jump in the number of referrals in the second half of last year following the roll-out of Universal Credit in Stirling.
The new benefits system came into force here on June 28 and replaced six means-tested benefits including housing benefit, child tax credit, income support and jobseekers allowance.
It was introduced nationally by the Conservative Government at Westminster and has been heavily criticised because of delays in payments and the difficulties faced by many people in submitting online applications for the benefit.
In January to June, 1917, Stirling Council made 143 referrals to Start Up Stirling, who operate food banks in the city centre, Hillpark and Raploch. However, in the second half of the year, the referrals figure jumped 126 to 269. That meant a record 412 people were directed to food banks by the council in 2017.
In the first three months of this year, there were 142 referrals, one fewer than in the whole of the first six months last year.
The information, released by the council to the SNP following a Freedom of Information request to the council, indicates the number of referrals by the authority to food banks annually was: 2013, 159; 2014, 227; 2015, 318; 2016, 245 and 2017, 412.
In April, figures produced for Stirling Council’s environment and housing committee showed that rent arrears from tenants claiming Universal Credit went up from £13,013 at the end of June last year to £121,706 at the end of January, an increase of 835 per cent. The number of tenants in arrears jumped from 411 in September to 726 in January.
Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford said the figures indicated the “detrimental” impact that Universal Credit was having on families in the area.
He added: “Following the full rollout of Universal Credit in the Stirling area, Stirling Council has reported it causing a sharp spike in rent arrears, crisis grants and food bank referrals.
“Universal Credit is a broken system that is taking away the support that people need just to feed themselves and their families.
“I would reiterate my calls for the system of Universal Credit to be halted and for there to be no further rollout until Tory Ministers fix the fundamental flaws that are causing so many of my constituents to face real hardship.”
A Scottish Conservatives spokesman said:”It is a shame that Bruce has chosen to seek to politicise the fantastic work that Start Up Stirling does. They provide help to people who need it and the reasons why people need to go to Start Up Stirling are far more complex than Bruce seeks to portray in his poorlyjudged attempt to score a political point.
“Universal Credit is getting more people into work and giving assistance to those who need help to get into work. We do need to have a proper conversation about poverty in a Scotland which has been run by the SNP for 11 years; they can’t keep blaming others for their failures.”