SHARE OF £392,700 FOR ELIGIBLE DUMFRIES & GALLOWAY FAMILIES BEFORE CHRISTMAS

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Low income families in Dumfries & Galloway will benefit from a £320 uplift before Christmas as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty.

South Scotland SNP MSP, Emma Harper, 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 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 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 South Scotland, Emma Harper, said:

“I know that many families in Dumfries & Galloway 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 £392,700 in the pockets of low income families in Dumfries & Galloway.

“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 Dumfries & Galloway 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.”

www.gov.scot/news/boost-for-family-budgets-before-christmas/ <www.gov.scot/news/boost-for-family-budgets-before-christmas/>

The bridging payments are made to all eligible children in receipt of free school meals due to low income. The first two bridging payments were made in April and July to align with Easter and summer holidays. Overall around 148,000 children across Scotland are eligible and the total investment will be over £77 million a year.

Summer 2021 Bridging Payments By Local Authority
Local Authority
SUMMER – Reported number of payments
SUMMER Reported spend
Aberdeen City

4,180

£418,000

Aberdeenshire

4,040

£404,000

Angus

2,629

£262,900

Argyll & Bute

1,499

£149,900

Clackmannanshire

996

£99,600

Dumfries & Galloway

3,927

£392,700

Dundee City

5,351

£535,100

East Ayrshire

3,929

£392,900

East Dunbartonshire

2,614

£261,400

East Lothian

2,012

£201,200

East Renfrewshire

1,758

£175,800

City of Edinburgh

8,146

£814,600

Na h-Eileanan Siar

335

£33,500

Falkirk

4,703

£470,300

Fife

11,601

£1,160,100

Glasgow City

28,811

£2,881,100

Highland

4,831

£483,100

Inverclyde

2,540

£254,000

Midlothian

2,112

£211,200

Moray

1,583

£158,300

North Ayrshire

4981

£498,100

North Lanarkshire

11,355

£1,135,500

Orkney Islands

268

£26,800

Perth & Kinross

2,256

£225,600

Renfrewshire

5,023

£502,300

Scottish Borders

2,354

£235,400

Shetland Islands

285

£28,500

South Ayrshire

3,023

£302,300

South Lanarkshire

9,847

£984,700

Stirling

1,651

£165,100

West Dunbartonshire

3,356

£335,600

West Lothian

6,300

£630,000

Total
148,296
£14,829,600