DEMAND for emergency cash help from a government fund has increased with Glasgow overspending its Welfare Fund budget, new figures show.

In the city 115% of the total budget for Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants was spent as more people seek help with costs.

Across Scotland last year applications for Crisis Grants increased by 11%, which according to Citizens advice Scotland is the result of a cost of living crisis.

There were more than 193,000 applications for help and just over 125,000 were successful.

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Citizens Advice Scotland said the figures were “shocking” and proof that more action is needed with a greater budget to meet the growing demand.

The Scottish Government said the figures were “appalling” and were as a result of UK Government austerity measures.

In total £35m was paid out to claimants last year. Most of the cash was for Community Care Grants (£25m) for one off payments for purchase of essential household items like beds washing machines or cookers.

The remaining £10m was on Crisis Grants including emergency payments for people in hardship including peoples struggling to get by on benefits or low income.

Mhoraig Green, Citizens Advise Scotland social justice spokeswoman said: “It should frankly shock people across the country that there was almost 200,000 applications for a crisis grant in Scotland in the last year.

“Today’s figures show that more needs to be done to tackle the causes of income crisis, particularly reducing the five-week wait for Universal Credit payments and high deductions to repay debt that leave people without enough to live on.

“More should also be done to increase awareness of the support available from the Scottish Welfare Fund, as well as reviewing whether the levels of funding are adequate to meet demand.”

The Scottish Government said it was cash that it would rather be spending on other public services instead of mitigating cuts from elsewhere.

Shirley-Ann Somerville, Social Security Secretary, said: “We would much rather these resources were invested in anti-poverty measures than protecting our people from another government’s cuts – a position the UN Special Rapporteur on Poverty recently described as outrageous and unsustainable.

“The fact that so many households in Scotland are in need of emergency financial help is appalling, and a sad indictment of the UK Government’s record on austerity and welfare changes.

“As their welfare cuts continue to cause harm and damage, we continue to do our best to mitigate against them and provide financial support to low income families and carers through new social security benefits.”

Labour in Scotland however said that the Scottish Government has not allocated enough cash to deal with demand.

Leader, Richard Leonard said the budget has been flat at £33m for three years, which he described as a real terms cut and if the same level of funding continues there will be a real terms cut of £7 million by 2025.

He said: “Despite increasing demand for its services, the Scottish Welfare Fund and local councils are being starved of cash by the SNP.

“With families using food banks and struggling to get by, this fund has never been more needed.

“Without additional funding from the SNP government this fund is in jeopardy, and it will be the most vulnerable people in our communities who will continue to lose out.”