Fife MP Lesley Laird has called for an emergency overhaul of Universal Credit after latest figures painted a grim picture of rising poverty across the region.
According to figures obtained by the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP, crisis grants totalling more than £225,000 were paid out to nearly 1,900 new Universal Credit claimants from March to May this year.
During May 2018, a total of £120,611 was paid out in crisis grants – nearly double the £60,578 total issued in May 2017. Of this £77,707 was paid out to claimants affected by Universal Credit, which was rolled out in December.
Mrs Laird said welfare reform “had thrown communities back to a Dickens-like era, forcing swathes of the population to rely on charity to feed themselves and their children.”
The Scottish Welfare Fund figures were obtained through Fife Council.
It follows a revelation by the National Audit Office that the UK Government’s £1.9 billion Universal Credit system could end up costing more to administer than the benefits system it is replacing.
It also revealed 25% of new Universal Credit claimants, where benefits are combined in a single payment, were paid late, some by up to a staggering eight months.
The report found the use of foodbanks increased more rapidly after Universal Credit was introduced to an area.
And this has been the case in Kirkcaldy, where the town’s foodbank has seen costs spiral since March from £3,000 a month to nearly £8,000.
“We heard that Kirkcaldy foodbank is in fear that it won’t be able to feed everyone should demand rise any further,” said Mrs Laird.
“How can a government justify rolling out a benefits scheme ostensibly designed to support vulnerable people’s needs which only succeeds in creating abject poverty and destitution?
“People in a 21st century society should not be reduced to this.”
Mrs Laird added: “The facts are now on the table for all to see. Universal Credit is yet another example of Theresa May’s hostile environment. Let’s see if her conscience will stop this destitution by design.”
