THE children's charity Barnardo's Scotland has called on the UK Government to halt "devastating" proposed cuts to tax credits, with new figures showing how children in the most deprived areas of Scotland will be the worst affected.
In nine local authorities in Scotland, more than half of children live in families which rely on having their income boosted by child and working tax credits, according to statistics collated by the HMRC.
Just over 60% of children in Glasgow live in households which receive this financial support, followed by North Ayrshire at 56%. In West Dunbartonshire and Dundee City the figure is around 55%.
Unsurprisingly these areas have higher levels of deprivation and low income.
In more affluent areas such as Aberdeenshire and East Renfrewshire, only around a quarter of children are living in families which receive tax credits.
Barnardo's Scotland has warned the proposed cuts - expected to be unveiled in Wednesday's emergency budget as part of moves to slash the welfare bill by £12 billion - will have a "devastating" impact on family income and push more families into poverty.
Scotland's welfare minister Margaret Burgess has also attacked the UK Government's "ludicrous" plans for considering cutting the lifeline support for thousands of families.
Last week the Sunday Herald revealed more than 500,000 children in Scotland are living in families which receive tax credits.
Out of 352,000 families in Scotland which receive the financial support, the majority - 194,000 are in work and have children, including 100,000 lone parents.
Experts have warned families with two children could lose as much as £1,690 annually under the cuts.
Mark Ballard, head of policy for Barnardo's Scotland, said: "The UK Government has promised to improve support for working families so that parents do not have to choose between feeding their families and heating their homes.
"Unfortunately, the reality is increasing numbers of working parents are struggling to stay above the breadline, and any proposed cuts to the benefits they rely on will only make things worse.
"Low paid parents with dependent children rely on tax credits to make up to the difference between what they earn and what they need to get by."
Welfare minister Burgess called on the UK Government to halt the £12 billion of cuts to the welfare budget, warning it will plunge more children into poverty.
She said: "It is ludicrous for the UK Government to consider cutting this lifeline for thousands of families, who are already in employment, and it will have a devastating impact on children.
"In order to reduce benefit payments and support people into work we need to tackle low pay, create jobs and remove barriers, not take the UK Government approach of removing money which will make it even more difficult for people to feed themselves and their families."
Working tax credits are paid to parents on low income who are working more than 16 hours per week. Child tax credits are paid to those with a low annual income as help with the costs of bringing up a child.
The UK Government said it was unable to speculate on the contents of the emergency budget. But a spokesman added: "In Scotland as across the rest of the UK the proportion of individuals and children in relative poverty are at their lowest levels since the 1980s.
"We know that work is the best route out of poverty, with children in workless families around three times as likely to be in poverty than those in working families.
"That's why, as part of our long-term economic plan, our reforms to the welfare system are focused on making work pay, while our reforms to the tax system are allowing people to keep more of what they earn."
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