Kirsten Oswald, Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire, has welcomed new figures showing that low-income households in East Renfrewshire have been supported by £1,614,230 from the Scottish Government.
5,447 households in East Renfrewshire have received a total of £708,110 from Low Income Pandemic Payments and 7,014 have received a total of £906,120 in Bridging Payments that support families with children in receipt of free school meals.
Across Scotland, these payments have amounted to the SNP Scottish Government delivering more than £145 million to more than 530,000 low-income households – including more than 143,000 school age children receiving Bridging Payments.
Commenting Kirsten said:
“The pandemic has been incredibly difficult for so many families for a variety of reasons – some have lost wages and jobs; others have seen an increase in heating bills as we all spent more time at home and energy costs have increased.
“I’m glad that the SNP Scottish Government has been helping families in East Renfrewshire to get through this tough time with £1.6 million of support, in addition to other Scottish low-income benefits and the Scottish Child Payment.
“We know that families in East Renfrewshire will continue to feel the pressure as we face a cost-of-living crisis, so it is reassuring to see the Scottish Government is focused on helping those who need it most.
“The contrast between the SNP Government in Holyrood and the Tory UK Government could not be clearer. The SNP is getting on with extending the Scottish Child Payment to under 16s and doubling the payment to £20 per week per child from April; meanwhile the Tories are cutting support for those who need it most and implementing unfair tax hikes that will hit even low-income households.”
