Westminster must devolve benefits to Holyrood

Following the release of figures showing continued problems of child poverty in Scotland SNP MSP Bob Doris said the UK Government must act to ensure its welfare reforms do not push more young people into poverty.

He said: "Every child in Scotland deserves the best possible start in life and it is for this reason that the SNP launched Scotland’s first ever national strategy to tackle child poverty that will help the poorest families increase their household incomes.

"We have used every lever at our disposal to keep children out of poverty through a range of preventative spending measures, freezing the council tax, making prescription charges free and combating fuel poverty by increasing funding for fuel poverty schemes for those with young children.

"However, the UK Government is only hampering our efforts to tackle child poverty and inequality with their vicious welfare benefits reform program.

"It is for the this reason that the Scottish Parliament – led by the SNP – overwhelmingly rejected controversial benefit changes linked to Iain Duncan Smith's welfare reform plans.

"This report from Save the Children should be a wake-up call to the UK Government whose reforms risk pushing more people into poverty.

"If full control of the tax and benefits system was devolved to the Scottish Government then poverty could be tackled far more effectively."