For immediate release:

UK GOVERNMENT BENEFIT CAP HURTS NEARLY 600 HOUSEHOLDS IN SOUTH LANARKSHIRE

Hundreds of families in South Lanarkshire have seen their incomes cut by the UK Government benefit cap, new figures have revealed – with 333 of the 581 households affected in the local authority area being single parent families.

MSP for Rutherglen Clare Haughey has criticised the effect of the benefit cap which she argues is ‘driving up child poverty’.

Last month, the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) revealed that around 230,000 Scottish children are living in relative poverty, claiming the rise since 2010 was “mainly due to UK Government-imposed social security cuts”.

And only last week, the United Nations condemned the UK Government’s “punitive, mean-spirited and often callous” treatment of the country’s poorest and most vulnerable in a damning report studying the effect of social security and related policies on extreme poverty and human rights.

Across Scotland, 11,256 households have had their support stripped since the cap was introduced.

Commenting on the figures, Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey said:

“UK austerity is having a devastating impact on thousands of low-income families across Scotland. The UK government should be deeply ashamed of stripping the income of households throughout South Lanarkshire and driving up child poverty.

“Rutherglen and Cambuslang have been hit hard by the benefit cap, as well as a host of other welfare cuts – including the freeze on working-age benefits, unfair sanctions, and the roll-out of Universal Credit.

“I see the impact of UK Government policies on a daily basis in my constituency. Our welfare system is meant to be a safety net to help those most in need – instead the UK Government punishes the poorest in society, taking money from families who are already struggling to get by.”

ENDS

Notes:

Attached is a breakdown of housing benefit cap figures by Scottish Local Authority. Table was taken from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-cap-number-of-households-capped-to-august-2018

Joseph Rowntree Foundation figures cited can be found here: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16953604.scotland-has-failed-to-tackle-unacceptable-levels-of-child-poverty-report-claims/

UN Special Rapporteur information cited can be found here: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/un-report-uk-poverty-austerity-government-cuts-special-rapporteur-benefits-callous-a8636901.html

Date published: 22nd November 2018