FAMILIES IN MIDLOTHIAN AND EAST LOTHIAN RECEIVE £12.7 MILLION IN SUPPORT FROM SNP GOVERNMENT
 
11,495 children in Midlothian and East Lothian have benefitted from the Scottish Child Payment, according to the latest figures released by the Scottish Government - with £12,745,020 having been paid to families.
 
The payment of £25 per week, available to eligible children under the age of 16, is one of five family payments available from the Scottish Government which provide regular financial support to low income families.
 
The Scottish Child Payment is designed to combat child poverty and support families across Scotland, and these figures demonstrate the significant impact of this for 11,495 children in Midlothian and East Lothian, and 316,190 across the whole of Scotland.
 
Following its introduction in February 2021, the payment is the most ambitious anti-poverty measure to be implemented in the UK. It has been hailed as a “game-changer” in tackling child poverty by the Child Poverty Action Group and described as a “lifesaver" by parents.
Commenting, SNP MSP Colin Beattie said
 
“The Scottish Child payment was designed to tackle child poverty head on, so it is great to see the SNP’s benefit providing real support to 11,495 children in Midlothian and East Lothian - with £12,745,020 having been paid out to local families.
 
“I am conscious that, as we head into the winter months, and with the Tory-made cost of living crisis continuing to affect households across Midlothian and East Lothian, families will face even greater challenges, with many struggling to make ends meet. The Scottish Child Payment will therefore be even more vital.
 
“Having increased the Scottish Child Payment by 150% since its introduction and expanded eligibility to under 16s, it is clear the SNP Scottish Government is determined to use the powers it has to tackle child poverty and support Scotland’s most vulnerable families.
 
“The profound impact of the Scottish Child Payment, in the face of both Westminster parties' pursuit of cruel policies and cuts, perfectly demonstrates the need for Scotland to have the full welfare and tax powers of an independent country. Only this way can we build a fairer and more prosperous country."
ENDS 

Bonnyrigg Post Office will be re-opening the branch as a permanent service on Thursday 28 September 2023 at 13:00. This will be in a new location – Premier Store, 8 -10 Dundas Street, Bonnyrigg, EH19 3AS, where it will be known as Bonnyrigg Post Office.
The full time branch closed, in September 2018. In the interim, to serve the local community with continued access to Post Office services, a temporary Mobile service operated from Settlement Project, 76 High Street, Bonnyrigg, EH19 2AE, while a permanent solution was found. This service will cease after the last service date on Monday 25 September 2023 at 12:45.
 
Commenting, Colin Beattie MSP said:
“I am pleased that a full-time post-office branch location has been found for the residents of Bonnyrigg.
I know from my constituents how much locals rely on the post office and how important it is that they are located in a central area for all to access – especially for the most vulnerable in our communities.
I very much welcome this news and I am sure local people do too.” 

​Local MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh, Colin Beattie, has slammed Labour’s leader in Scotland, Anas Sarwar, for u-turning on his commitment to abolish the bedroom tax after new figures reveal Midlothian and East Lothian was forced to spend £6.7 million mitigating the Westminster policy.
 
Labour’s Anas Sarwar promised in 2013 “if we were in government tomorrow, we would abolish the bedroom tax”, before the party’s Economy Spokesperson in Scotland confirmed earlier this week a Labour government now won’t scrap the Tories’ bedroom tax or two-child cap on benefits.
 
Statistics have revealed that, since 2019, the Scottish Government has spent over £251,000,000 mitigating the bedroom tax through Discretionary Housing Payments.
 
Further analysis from the SNP has also shown that families in Scotland have been disproportionately hit by the bedroom tax, with one in three (33%) housing benefit claimants in Scotland having their benefits reduced compared to one in six (16%) in England.
 
Commenting, SNP MSP Colin Beattie said:
 
“Under Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer, Labour has u-turned on their cast iron commitment to scrap the bedroom tax which is impacting a huge number of my constituents in Midlothian North and Musselburgh.
 
“In the middle of a cost of living crisis, Labour’s refusal to scrap the cruel bedroom tax and ease the financial pressure on households across Midlothian North and Musselburgh, is a disgrace.
 
“Anas Sarwar has been taking lessons from his boss Keir Starmer with this barefaced betrayal of working families. After over a decade of Westminster austerity, people are crying out for real change and compassionate leadership – but Labour doesn’t want to listen.
 
“The SNP Government is being forced to mitigate the bedroom tax to the tune of £65 million a year – money that could be reinvested elsewhere if Labour had the courage to get behind the SNP and end these abhorrent policies for good.”
 
ENDS