Holyrood scheme ‘protects Scots from welfare cuts’

Scheme was heralded by finance secretary John Swinney. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

MORE than half a million low income households in Scotland have benefited from a fund set up to mitigate the effects of the abolition of council tax benefit.

The UK government scrapped council tax benefit last year as part of its programme of changes to welfare.

However, the Scottish government asked local authorities to introduce their own council tax reduction schemes for low income families.

Newly released figures show that 537,730 people were protected from increased council tax bills through the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme in June 2014.

Finance secretary John Swinney said: “This Scottish Government has consistently taken action to protect households across Scotland from Westminster’s welfare cuts.

“We are helping over 500,000 low income households who would otherwise have seen bills rise and living costs increase.

“It’s clear we are working hard to help those people in Scotland who are paying a heavy price for the UK Government’s welfare reforms. Today’s figures demonstrate our commitment to helping pensioners, families, lone parents and disabled people who are struggling to pay their bills.”