WHEN I think about the damage caused by the Westminster Government's austerity agenda, the clearest demonstration of it, for me, is the dramatic increase in demand for emergency food bank supplies in Glasgow and across Scotland.

On a recent visit to the Salvation Army

in Easterhouse, I spoke to the assistants about the food bank that was started in January.

They told me the food bank has helped many people in the Easterhouse area, and it was heartening to hear that many from the community, as well as businesses in the area, have donated goods to help stock the food bank.

The work of volunteers at Salvation Army Centres is essential during these tough economic times.

As a kid growing up in Glasgow I remember takingtinned food to the local supermarket collection point for starving children in Somalia.

However, in 21st century Glasgow, we would not expect to see our own neighbours - folk living on our doorsteps - having to turn to a food bank to feed their families.

Recent figures from the Trussell Trust charity show that over 150,000 people received three days' of emergency food in the quarter between April and July this year, a massive increase from the 49,000 who needed the same basic food help last year.

It is revealing that more than half of those people who needed help were referred to the food banks by care professionals due to benefit problems such as delay in payments of entitlement changes.

This shows how the benefit changes imposed by Westminster are having effects that the UK Government did not plan for.

The demand for emergency food supplies is so high that the Trussell Trust is opening a third food bank in September, which will be run from Calton Parkhead Parish Church.

This means there are 15 food banks across Glasgow, run by church groups, charities and groups of volunteers.

This alarming rise in families struggling to make ends meet and not being able to afford basic foodstuffs is truly concerning.

The Scottish Government is doing all it can to mitigate against the effects of the cuts.

We are protecting policies such as the abolition of prescription charges and the council tax freeze, to make sure hard-pressed families do not face more increased costs.

The Scottish Government has also created a new Scottish Welfare Fund, which will provide crucial financial assistance to struggling households, lone parents, the disabled, unemployed and the elderly.

For me, the debates on independence sometimes focus too much on the 'nitty gritty', and arguments about how independence can create a new social agenda for Scotland can be lost.

I want independence so Scotland can make its own welfare decisions, which will be tailored to Scotland's specific needs and the needs of its people.