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Thousands of people in Scotland are being forced into poverty by welfare cuts, according to an official report.

The benefit freeze has led to reductions in spending of about £190million in 2018-2019, rising to about £370million by 2020-21.

And UK Government cuts are expected to see social security spending in Scotland reduce by £3.7billion by 2020-21, compared with the 2010 figure.

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Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “These figures lay bare the devastating impact of the UK Government’s welfare cuts for people, families and communities across Scotland.

“As ever, it is the poorest and most vulnerable in our society who are suffering the most, those out of work and those in low-paid employment finding their benefits effectively being cut year after year.

“The Scottish Government are doing what we can to protect people on lower incomes by, this year alone, investing over £125million on mitigation measures – £20million more than last year – and an additional £350million for council tax reduction.

“Over the coming years, we will use our new social security powers to provide increased financial support for people on low incomes.”

The findings come in the Scottish Government’s Welfare Reform Report, an annual publication that reports on the impact of the UK Welfare Reform Act.

It also found that Universal Credit claimants are more than six times as likely to be sanctioned as claimants of older benefits that are being phased out.