FIRST Minister’s Questions yesterday saw Deputy First Minister John Swinney stand in for Nicola Sturgeon. The audacity of Labour leader Richard Leonard, who came forward accusing the Scottish Government of ducking their moral responsibility on poverty and allowing the Conservatives in Westminster to continue in office.

Mr Leonard in those accusations merely highlighted his own lack of knowledge of the mitigating measures the Scottish Government have put in place. I mention only one, the Scottish Welfare Fund, which has assisted more than 316,000 households in its first five years of existence, with awards totalling £181.6 million.

The Scottish Government has many constraints on its budgets, but with spending on mitigating Westminster’s austerity cuts and the freeze on benefits, the Scottish Government is clearly demonstrating its spending priorities for the less well-off and vulnerable in our society.

Catriona C Clark
Falkirk