Strathkelvin and Bearsden MSP welcomes boost for low income families

Strathkelvin and Bearsden SNP MSP Rona Mackay has welcomed the payments.

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

The cash is equivalent to the Scottish Child Payment - a £10-a-week benefit to assist with the costs of caring for a child aged under six years old. The Scottish Government will extend the Scottish Child payment to all eligible under-16s by the end of 2022 and are committed to double the payment to £20 per week as quickly as possible.

The payments, highlighted in the Scottish Parliament, came just a day after six Scottish 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.

Ms Mackay said: “I know that many families in East Dunbartonshire 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.

“It’s clear building a better future for children in Strathkelvin and Bearsden, and across Scotland, is placed top 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.”