A RECORD number of almost 1.2 million emergency supplies were given out at food banks in the past year, particularly in areas across Scotland where the Universal Credit system is being rolled out, new figures reveal.

The Trussell Trust said its network provided 1,182,954 three-day food supplies to people “in crisis” in the year to March, over 70,000 more than the previous 12 months.

The charity said almost 440,000 supplies went to children.

At the same time, a new survey for The Poverty Alliance revealed that one in three Scots on a low income often skips meals as they struggle to scrape by.

It showed more than a third (37 per cent) of those earning less than £14,000 a year have fallen behind with household bills in the last year, while 34 per cent were regularly missing meals.

The Trussell Trust said food banks in areas where the new Universal Credit (UC) benefit was introduced saw an average increase in referrals for emergency food of almost 17 per cent and a report said the new system was pulling families apart.

The trust said the effect of a six-week waiting period for a first UC payment could be serious, leading to debt and rent arrears. Benefit delays and changes remain the biggest cause of someone being referred to a foodbank by a doctor, social worker or jobcentre.

The study also tells how volunteers have reported four instances of marriages breaking up as couples crack under lengthy delays for welfare payments.

Rent arrears of £900 in the Highland council area are said to have been caused by the change and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations is amongst the bodies to call for a pause to its phased introduction across the country.

Meanwhile, Social Security Secretary Angela Constance wrote to UK Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green urging him to call a “complete halt” to the rollout, which she said was “no longer feasible”.

Now a Trussell Trust report says it is harming clients’s mental health, increasing debt and destroying lives. It states: “Food banks reported four recent instances of people dealing with the breakdown of marriages due to the extra financial pressure put on the relationship whilst struggling with the wait for Universal Credit payments.”

The charity has seen a 16.8 per cent average rise in referrals to areas where Universal Credit is live, more than double the UK average increase of 6.6 per cent.

The DWP says claimants are moving into employment more quickly under Universal Credit and staying in work for longer.

The department said its own research shows “majority of UC claimants are comfortable managing their budgets”, adding: “We’re working with local authorities and landlords to get extra support to those people who may find themselves in arrears. We’ve been rolling Universal Credit out gradually so that we have time to ensure it works in the right way for everyone involved.”

The Poverty Alliance survey also showed that more than a quarter (28 per cent) of families have topped up their income with a credit card or loan, and more than one in five (22 per cent) have fallen behind with their rent or mortgage payments.

For almost half (46 per cent) of those on a low income, financial stress is negatively affecting their work life and Peter Kelly, director of The Poverty Alliance, which promotes the real Living Wage in Scotland, said it “paints a worrying picture” of low earners scraping by, struggling to pay basic bills, skipping meals and feeling a lot of stress. “In 2017, in a country like Scotland, that should not be the case”, he added.

“We know from other surveys that increasing pay levels from the national minimum wage to a real Living Wage – a pay rise of up to £2,000 a year for full-time workers - brings huge benefits to employees and employers, in terms of increased retention and better staff morale.

“The real Living Wage of £8.45 an hour has the backing of three in four Scots in the survey, and it has cross-party support in Scotland.

“Our survey also found that more than a third of people felt a real Living Wage could tackle child poverty, and the vast majority felt it made for happier, more productive employees.”

Three quarters of respondents said more employers paying a real Living Wage of £8.45 an hour would raise Scots’ living standards, while eight out of 10 said being paid a real Living Wage would make them feel more valued at work.

The survey of 1,024 adults by Survation included people of all income brackets ranging in age from 18 to 64. Asked how they would spend the extra money if their employer started to pay them the real Living Wage, 44 per cent of low earners, those on less than £14,000, said they would save it.

Four out of 10 would use it to pay off debts while 24 per cent said they would take part in more social activities and Kelly said more needs to be done to raise awareness of the Living Wage.

He added: “Since we started the Living Wage accreditation programme in Scotland three years ago, we have signed up more than 780 employers. In Scotland, we’ve had the fastest take-up of any region in the UK. It’s a voluntary programme and a simple process which we would urge employers of all size to consider.

“There is a long way to go to address in-work poverty for the estimated 467,000 low-paid people in our country. As this research shows, putting just a little bit more in people’s pockets could have positive impacts both socially and economically.”

SNP MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford MP said: “This research paints a stark picture of the harsh reality of life under the Tories for far too many ordinary Scots and their families. Cuts to tax credits in particular are pushing working parents of children into poverty. It is shameful.”