STEPHEN NAYSMITH and KEVIN SCHOFIELD
A charity is to begin handing out food vouchers to destitute Scots amid claims they are being let down by the welfare system.
The Stirling Citizen Advice Bureau (Cab) will launch the radical scheme - believed to be the first of its kind in Scotland - today after being inundated by desperate pleas for help.
Craig Anderson, the Cab manager in Stirling, said the problem was being caused by changes to the way the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) deals with requests from those on the poverty line.
He also warned that as many as 22,000 Scots could be left in need of emergency help as a result of the problem.
Mr Anderson said: "We have noticed a significant increase in the number of people coming to Stirling Cab with no money for food. The main reason appears to be the time it takes to get benefit paid since the DWP have adopted a call centre model, based in Middlesbrough.
"It can take up to eight weeks to receive money from the date you call to claim. In the intervening weeks people can claim a crisis loan, but it is often very difficult to get through to this telephone helpline due to the volume of calls.
"Stirling CAB felt it was important to develop this food voucher initiative to ensure that these clients do not go hungry."
Alex McLeish, the Scotland football team manager, will today present Cab with a cheque from the Unity Trust Bank to get the scheme off the ground.
Shops in the Stirling area have agreed to accept the vouchers in exchange for food and household items. However, they cannot be spent on tobacco or alcohol and no change is given to people who underspend.
Mr Anderson said in the past six months, the Stirling Cab has dealt with around 110 people who have either needed emergency funding or were threatened with homelessness.
"There are 200 sites in Scotland where the Cab has services and I think you could easily multiply the two figures," he said.
Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, described it as "a desperate response to a desperate situation".
A spokesman for the DWP denied there were delays in the system, insisting benefits claims were being dealt with quickly.
"There are no significant backlogs of work in processing benefits claims in Scotland," he said.
Bruce Crawford, local MSP, said he was alarmed the food voucher scheme was needed.
He said: "We've got to applaud them for taking the action they think is required. But it's quite incredible the Labour government at Westminster has managed to get to such a level of failure the Cab feel it is necessary."
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