Scotland’s social justice secretary and the Welsh deputy first minister, in a joint letter to the secretary of state for Work and Pensions, Pat McFadden, and education secretary Lucy Powell, have called on the UK Government to scrap the benefit cap, bedroom tax and the freeze to local housing allowance. 

The UK Government has also been urged to adopt Scottish Government proposals for a social tariff in the form of targeted bill discounts.

Published modelling shows that 660,000 households in Scotland would see their estimated fuel bills decrease by an average of £700.  

In September, the Scottish and Welsh Governments signed the Cardiff Agreement vowing to work together on areas such as dealing with child poverty and the cost of living.

Scotland’s social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The Scottish and Welsh Governments are also clear that we need more action from the UK Budget to support our work on child poverty – that includes ending the cruel benefit cap which is punishing children for circumstances beyond their control. 

“This has never been more pressing, with DWP’s own data showing that the number of Scottish children impacted doubled to nearly 20,000 between March and May this year.

“Our game-changing Scottish Child Payment shows the innovative and ambitious policies we can implement where we have the power.”

Somerville added: “It shows why we need more powers in Scotland and Wales, rather than seeing them hoarded by the UK Government.

“The UK Government must now take action in their Budget to cut bills and boost living standards.  

“And if they will not, they should hand the powers over to a Scottish Government that would.”

Sioned Williams, deputy first minister and cabinet minister for Social Justice and Equality said: “While we are taking firm action wherever we can, we need the UK Government to play its part and our joint letter with the Scottish Government calls for a clear set of actions to support us in tackling child poverty. 

“This is not only about those levers which remain with the UK Government but also about supporting us to effectively use our own powers.

“An example of this is the Cynnal child payment in Wales. This can only succeed with the co-operation of the UK Government to ensure that those receiving the payment are not penalised by having their entitlement to other benefits reduced, allowing children and families to receive the maximum possible support.”

Williams added: “I call on the UK Government now to work with us and give us the assurance that we can make a real difference with this scheme.

“Introducing a social tariff is also key, and I join colleagues across the UK in calling for this to be introduced urgently.”