By Steph Brawn and Tommy Lumby
Around one in seven working-age people in Renfrewshire will be hit by a cut to Universal Credit (UC), fresh government figures show.
The £20-a-week uplift to the benefit - which was brought in March 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic - has now been pulled leaving many families in the region struggling to make ends meet.
The scheme officially ends today, but many will have already received their final increased payment as this depends on the day they usually get UC.
Across Renfrewshire, 15,476 people were claiming the benefit on August 12, according to the latest Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) data which has been analysed by the Reach Data Unit.
That’s 13 per cent of the people aged between 16 and 64, according to the latest Office for National Statistics population estimates.
The number of claimants in August was also double the 7,783 on the benefit in February 2020 - the last full month before the Covid-19 pandemic sent demand for help through the roof.
In August 2019, 6,179 people in Renfrewshire were claiming the benefit.
The UK Government has stressed the weekly increase was only ever a temporary measure and the focus should now shift to getting people back into work.
But many politicians have argued the uplift should be made permanent as thousands of people face poverty without the lifeline cash.
Natalie Don, SNP MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, said: “It is clear Boris Johnson and his chancellor do not care about the difference £20-a-week makes to the everyday lives of the most vulnerable people.
“The Tory government’s blinkered ideologically-driven decision to cut the uplift will force thousands of people in Renfrewshire into facing the horrendous prospect of choosing whether to pay for their heating or put food on their table."
Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, added: “Thousands of households across Renfrewshire have relied on the £20-a-week to get them through what has been the biggest economic crisis for decades.
"Taking that lifeline away is brutal and inhumane."
Across the UK, nearly six million people were on UC in August, more than double the number in February 2020 and higher still than in August 2019.
On top of the weekly boost being removed, families are now facing higher energy bills, soaring petrol prices and a planned increase to National Insurance payments next year.
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Paisley-based MSP Neil Bibby, who represents Renfrewshire as part of his West Scotland remit, said: "If this country is seriously going to build back better from the Covid crisis then we should be building a stronger safety net for people who need UC - many of whom are already in work.
“The economic recovery is at risk, bills are going up and we now face a cost of living crisis. Scrapping the UC uplift at a time like this is utterly perverse."
A UK Government spokesman said: “We’ve always been clear the uplift to UC was temporary.
“It was designed to help claimants through the financial disruption of the pandemic.
“It’s right the government should focus on supporting people back into work and those already employed to progress."
