A single dad says increasing child payment by just £10 a week would mean he could stop having to choose between eating and heating.
Paul Gallacher, 47, told the Daily Record he is faced with the agonising decision every time his daughter Mollie-Mae, 5, needs new shoes or clothes.
The trained chef says he is currently looking for work and wants to give the youngster everything she deserves - and a rise in child payment would help.
He said: “Before Covid it was tight. We struggled from month to month on Universal Credit.
"If I had to get Mollie-Mae something like a new pair of shoes I had to cut back on something else like electricity.
“Christmas time is the worst time, trying to struggle to get her something for Christmas and put food on the table.
"And electricity at this time of year will be £60-70 a week.”
But as a trained chef his biggest upset is not being able to provide her with the best nutrition.
Paul, from Dailly, South Ayrshire, said: “It is hard to buy fresh food every single week.
"At the end of the month she is not getting healthy food, it is stuff out the freezer or packet foods which isn’t healthy.
“Fresh food just perishes far too easily, it is hard to store it and keep it good.
"I do bulk cooking to try to get us through but I can’t cook for a full month because of freezer space.
“I do what I can but sometimes I gave to give her frozen chicken nuggets or sausage rolls which I don’t think is healthy.
“The Universal Credit £20 uplift helped but when it stops we will be away back to square one.”
“As a single parent I will struggle financially very, very soon.”
Paul is sad his little girl has to miss out on holidays, day trips and little treats.
He said: “She had one of her wee friends down to play and she brought a wee interactive doll with her.
"Mollie-Mae asked to get that for her birthday but it was away out my price range.
"I couldn’t even buy her a doll.
“When it was really hot she asked for a slush puppy but I had to say no.
“Her wee face . . . she looked at me as if to say ‘you can’t afford even a pound for a slush puppy Daddy?’.
"It was sad but she accepts it.”
“When it comes to night-time and she is in her bed and you sit back and think about the day and you think I couldn’t buy her a slush puppy today, I couldn’t buy her a comic.
"It does get to you.”
