FAMILIES IN SOUTH LANAKRSHIRE RECEIVED £984,700 SUPPORT FROM SCOTGOV

 

9,847 low-income families in South Lanarkshire have benefited from £984,700 over this year’s summer period. The same families will benefit from a £320 uplift before Christmas as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty.

 

Christina McKelvie MSP welcomed the payments which Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison highlighted during a debate on the commitments in the SNP Scottish Government’s Programme for Government which aim to create a fairer society. 

 

Families eligible will receive payments of £160 per child in October and again in December. Two Bridging Payments of £100 which have already been made takes the total to £520 this year.

The Social Justice Secretary highlighted the payments in the Scottish Parliament just a day after the six Tory MPs failed to vote to stop the UK government’s plans to cut the incomes of six million people across the UK by £1040 a year - the biggest cut to welfare since the 1930’s.

Commenting SNP MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Christina McKelvie said:

 

“I know that many families in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse are finding it hard just now. The impact that the pandemic has had on household finances is real, and has only been made worse by the cost of Tory’s obsession with Brexit and their unrelenting cruel austerity agenda.

 

“I am pleased that in Scotland, we have an SNP Scottish Government doing right thing by its citizens with these payments meaning £520 will be put in the pockets of low income families in South Lanarkshire.

 

“The Scottish Child Payment is already the most ambitious anti-poverty measure currently being undertaken anywhere in the UK and we have committed to doubling it to £20-a-week per child as soon as possible in this parliamentary term.

 

“It’s clear that building a better future for children in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, and right across Scotland, is of at the top of the agenda in the SNP’s Programme for Government.

 

“As the Tories plough on with their indefensible move to cut £20-a-week in Universal Credit from those who need it most, the SNP Government are using the powers we have to provide real, practical help for families in Scotland. It’s crystal clear that the only way to keep Scotland safe from Westminster cuts is to become an independent country.”