The debacle over Universal Credit continues apace causing misery to many of my constituents. Despite the pleas of many, including Citizens Advice and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the government continue to apply a five-week waiting period before Universal Credit payment is made.

How can a system that holds back payment from families, including those with children, make any sense? It is a system that was designed by the extreme right-wing Tory, Ian Duncan Smith – so it is no wonder that it is a disaster that is inflicting misery on many.

The compulsory delay in payment is forcing people into debt, rent arrears, and needing food-banks to feed their children. Families must pay back advance payments at exorbitant rates, sometimes by as much as 30 per cent of their monthly benefit.

The treatment of families by this Conservative government is appalling – from their freezing of child benefit all the way through to the two-child limit with its disgusting rape clause.

And their regressive policies mean, for some, that not even being in employment means avoiding poverty.

Recently, the highly respected Child Poverty Action Group reported that lone parents on a reasonable wage cannot reach a minimum acceptable living standard, even if they work full time. Living costs are rising faster than inflation and families are hit by childcare costs that are not fully supported by the tax and Universal Credit systems.

The Government must be forced to see sense and help families to thrive. This means they should at least end the five-week delay in payment and scrap the two-child policy that limits payment to only the first two children in a family and allow access to up-front childcare costs, as this is currently a barrier to taking on work for many.

I also welcome the Scottish Government’s decision to bring in the Scottish Child Payment faster than originally planned. By the end of next year an additional £10 a week will be awarded for each child under six in low-income families. This entitlement will be increased to under-16s by the end of 2022 and will lift 30,000 children out of poverty.