UNIVERSAL CREDIT DEDUCTIONS BLAST - £12m benefit grab is a 'poverty tax'

Average Scots household loses £59 a month

- ANDREW QUINN

SCOTS have lost out on more than £12million a month in universal credit due to a "poverty tax", official figures reveal.

The UK Government deducted £12.1million a month from 206,000 Scottish households between December and February.

Figures obtained by SNP MP Chris Stephens show that the average household had £59 taken away.

The total monthly amount deducted increased by £600,000 from the previous three month period and the number of households impacted grew by 12,000.

Almost half of the deductions were to repay upfront loans that households are forced to take out from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) when waiting five weeks for their first Universal Credit payment.