A NEW dossier highlighting “poverty producing policies” created and enforced by the UK Government will be published by the SNP today.

The report comes after widespread condemnation of comments made in the Scottish Parliament last week by Tory welfare spokesperson Michelle Ballantyne.

She suggested in the Chamber and in interviews afterwards that people on low-incomes should be restricted in how many children they can have.

The dossier sets out that Scottish Tories:

  • Backed the two-child cap, which puts 150,000 Scottish children at greater risk of poverty by 2021.
  • Argued there was no “hard evidence” explaining rising food bank demand – despite the overwhelming evidence pointing the finger precisely at Tory policies.
  • Said that only “tiny” numbers were affected by sanctions – when figures show that Scots have been sanctioned 400,000 times since 2010.
  • Argued that the minimum wage should be scrapped.
  • Branded the Bedroom Tax an “opportunity” – when three quarters of those affected were forced to cut back on food.

Tom Arthur said the SNP wanted to highlight the collective harm that Conservative policies are having to people in Scotland.

He said: “With Tory politicians loudly backing the two-child cap, benefit sanctions and calling for the minimum wage to be scrapped – it’s clear that the Tory plan for Scotland is one to increase poverty.”

Last week charities raised the alarm about the increasing reliance that some families in Scotland are having on food banks. In shocking evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Social Security Committee, MSPs were told about a young boy in Glasgow who was so hungry he was mixing ketchup sachets with hot water to make soup before a concerned teacher referred his family to a food bank.

The Trussell Trust warned that some families are starving and resorting to raiding skips at night to find food. In 2017-18 the charity distributed 170,625 three-day emergency food parcels, a 17% rise on the previous year.