The Scottish government has assigned £5.4m funding to organisations that assist struggling householders.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced the grant, which the Scottish government says is in response to "a substantial increase in requests for help as a result of Westminster welfare reforms".

The funding will include:

- a cash injection of £300,000 for services such as those provided by Citizens Advice Scotland

- a £1.7m fund to provide direct support to advice services

- £3.4m to be spent over the next two years on helping organisations struggling with the impacts of welfare reforms.

The government says changes in Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit will reduce the budgets of more than 100,000 households in Scotland.

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It says on average these families will be £700 a year worse off.

The government estimates around 1m working age households in Scotland will be affected by the uprating of benefits by 1%, as announced in the Autumn Statement.

This, it says, will reduce the total income of Scottish households by around £210m by 2014-15.

Ms Sturgeon said: "Citizen’s Advice Bureaux across the country are currently dealing with nearly 800 new issues for every working day.

"And the latest extremely worrying analysis about the families affected by benefits illustrates exactly that point.

"This reflects our serious concerns about the pace, scale and impact of Westminster’s benefits changes. It is clear that the impact of the cuts will extend across Scottish society, with vulnerable groups, women and working families all likely to suffer.

"That is why we have listened and are providing £5.4m to help meet the demand for advice and support as it dramatically increases.

"This is just further evidence of the need for independence. We want a welfare system in Scotland that provides fair and decent support for all and protects the vulnerable in our society. The only way to guarantee that is to have possession of the powers to deliver it."

(IT)