Anas Sarwar has accused Nicola Sturgeon of giving families less than £4 a week to help with the cost of living crisis.
The Scottish Labour leader said the Scottish Government’s £150 council tax rebate was not good enough and claimed the First Minister had copied Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
He also called for a £100 water rebate for every Scottish household, although an SNP source questioned whether such a move would be fair.
The UK Government is facing mounting criticism over a mini budget campaign groups believed ignored the plight of the poor.
Sunak confirmed benefits would not rise in line with inflation and announced a national insurance change that will aid wealthier taxpayers.
At Holyrood, Sarwar focused on the SNP/Green Government’s response to the crisis, particularly giving £150 to households living in band A-D properties.
This approach, which resembles the policy adopted by the UK Government, has been criticised for giving money to households not in need.
Sarwar said of the Tory mini-budget: “He failed to introduce a windfall tax. He failed to put more money in people's pockets, and he raised the tax burden on millions of families across the UK. He must have been taking lessons on missed opportunities from this First Minister.
“In her Government's budget, the First Minister had the opportunity to tackle the cost of living crisis. But just like the Tories, they’ve failed, giving households less than £4 a week in a council tax rebate. Copying Rishi Sunak's policy just won't cut it.”
Sturgeon said the Government had also doubled the Scottish Child Payment to £20 a week in a Budget Labour had “shamefully” opposed.
She added: “We have limited powers and we have limited resources. But due to our wider long-standing policies, people here already pay less than average in council tax, less in water bills, less in rail fares. Of course people in Scotland, compared to south of the border, pay nothing for prescriptions, for eye tests, for university tuition.”
Sarwar added: "Scottish Water is owned by the Scottish Government. They are currently sitting on a cash mountain of £428m. So Scottish Labour is calling for not just the freezing of water charges, but a £100 rebate for every household in Scotland."
Sturgeon said: “He'd have more credibility if he didn't also back the retention of these powers over welfare, over public spending, in the hands of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
“Until he changes that position, I don't know that many people across Scotland are going to take him seriously.”
An SNP insider also questioned the logic of Labour criticising the Government's council tax rebate while also supporting an untargeted water bill subsidy.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
