A single mum-of-two is struggling to make ends meet after waiting over four months for disability support for her autistic son.
Victoria Davies, 36, left her job as a virologist to care for her two sons, Matthew and Daniel, who have additional needs
The mum, who lives in East Kilbride, relies on government support and the family-of-three are currently living with around £600 less in their pocket each month amidst a cost-of-living crisis, the Daily Record reports.
She applied for the Child Disability Payment for her nine-year-old son Matthew on September 6 last year, just as responsibility for the support was passed on to the Scottish Government, who said claims would be processed with eight weeks.
Matthew was previously receiving Disability Living Allowance and had been since the age two, but the family had to reapply.
Before September the support provided the family with £360 per month. Victoria also claims the benefit for eldest son, Daniel, 11, and has continued to receive his payment, but neither child have received the new Scottish Child Payment which would boost their income by a further £200 a month.
Victoria, who is now struggling to feed her children and pay her energy bills, said the situation has left her "broken".
She said: "I'm constantly in tears, we're just living off a few quid a day. Last week I was at the shops with just £3 in my hand to get us a meal. Last night I was left with just one small slice of pizza for myself.
"I've had to borrow money off from my 16-year-old niece and it's embarrassing. My boys don't understand that there's only a certain amount of budget for the food. There have been days when I'm dreading them coming home from school because they don't understand why there is no shopping.
"I fear we're going to be sitting in the dark with no heat soon too because my energy is running out. This situation has left me broken."
Victoria has contacted the Scottish Government several times for an update on her claim and said that she was told in December they were "running a little behind".
Victoria added: "They are leaving the vulnerable hanging by a thread. They think it's ok for them to say it's just taking longer than expected to process claims, but they have no idea what we're going through. It's not acceptable to leave people with nothing.
"I don't know where to turn. I just feel like I'm banging my head off a brick wall and being passed on from person to person. The DWP (Department of Work & Pensions) was not perfect, but I have never had to wait this long. This has broken my trust in the Scottish Government."
A Social Security Scotland spokesperson said: “Our priority is giving people decisions as quickly as we can, while allowing time to make sure we have the information required to get decisions right. Importantly, people who are eligible will be paid from the date they applied.”
The Scottish Government body added that they received a high volume of applications for the Scottish Child Payment when it extended to under-16-year-olds. Tens of thousands of eligible new applicants received their payments before Christmas, but they aim to ensure that the majority of people who applied before Christmas will see their application processed before the end of February.
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