THE SNP Government has spent nearly £400 million over the past four years plugging the gaps created by Tory austerity, it has been revealed.

SNP MSP Clare Adamson has said that Scotland is “tackling poverty with one hand tied behind our backs” following the news.

Despite Westminster’s £211m real terms cuts to Scotland’s fiscal resource budget this year, the SNP Government is spending over £127m mitigating UK Government welfare policies, such as the bedroom tax, and supporting those on low incomes.

By 2020, Westminster cuts since 2010 will have reduced annual welfare spend in Scotland by £4 billion, which is more than the entire budget for the new Social Security system in Scotland.

SNP MSP Clare Adamson, who chairs Holyrood’s Social Security Committee, said: “The Tories think they can do whatever they want to Scotland and get away with it.

“Despite continued cuts to Scotland’s budget, over the past four years the SNP Scottish Government has spent nearly £400m plugging the gaps created by Tory austerity to try to keep people in Scotland from further hardship.

“In that time, Tory cuts have driven up the number of food bank parcels distributed in Scotland by nearly 30%, and this year alone it’s estimated that Tory cuts will leave 3.1m children with working parents below the official breadline across the UK.

“It is totally unacceptable that in 2018 people are finding themselves in these situations through absolutely no fault of their own.

“With our limited powers over welfare in Scotland we are building a social security system with dignity and respect at its heart - but as long as the Tory government in Westminster persists with such damaging, callous welfare policies, Scotland will be tackling poverty with one hand tied behind our backs.”