Leading charities have appealed to the UK Government to find new ways of reducing public spending ahead of £12 billion in additional cuts to the welfare bill in next week's emergency Budget.

The 13 Scottish charities, including Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS), the Poverty Alliance, Shelter Scotland and foodbank charity the Trussell Trust, said any further cuts are likely to hit working families, unpaid carers and people with disabilities the hardest.

In a joint letter to the Herald the voluntary organisations said suggestions such as cutting tax credits would hut children. "Despite a slight fall in the most recent figures, there are still 210,000 children living in relative poverty in Scotland, after housing costs and we are deeply concerned that cutting child tax credits risks increasing this shameful figure," the letter warns.

The letter comes ahead of a debate today (30th) on the Scotland Bill, and with an emergency budget next wednesday.

Despite a Conservative manifesto pledge to make £12 billion further cuts to welfare, Chancellor George Osborne has not detailed where they will come. However the Government is known to have examined options including cutting tax credits, reducing allowances for unpaid carers and taxing disability benefits.

CAS policy manager Keith Dryburgh says: "Our very latest statistics tell us 1 in every 31 people who come to a Scottish CAB for advice need a food parcel. The welfare changes we have seen so far have had a devastating effect on so many families, leaving them in or near poverty. We are very concerned that any further cuts to social security will only make these peoples situations worse.

"We hope that by co-ordinating this letter, civic society in Scotland is showing MPs how vital the welfare safety net is to their constituents, and can convince them of a better way forward."

Peter Kelly, director of the Poverty Alliance, said: "Organisations like the Poverty Alliance are concerned not only by the scale but the potential impact of further cuts on people who are already vulnerable. Cutting £12 billion would be tough at any time but on the back of five years of reductions makes this a real cause for concern.

"Most of us can't see where these cuts are going to come from. A cut to tax credits would put more risk on some of the most vulnerable children in Scotland and the rest of the UK. The UK government needs to adopt a different approach."

Bill Scott, policy director of disability coalition Inclusion Scotland, said: "Half of the cuts so far have fallen on disabled people and their families, according to Demos. Even if disability benefits aren't cut directly, disabled people are likely to be hard hit because they are less likely to be in work and if they are they are often low paid."

The letter calls on MPs to consider how the changes will affect Scotland's social security system and says they should "understand how hight the stakes are."

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