More than £1.1million has been spent on emergency funding for households in East Renfrewshire, latest figures show.

A total of 30,165 people in the area have received crisis grant funding from the Scottish Welfare Fund since its inception in 2013, with one-third of these applications going to families with children.

The remainder of the money that has come to East Renfrewshire since 2013 was spent on community care grants, helping those in need live more independently.

Nationwide, the most common reason for people applying for a crisis grant was for help with food, essential heating expenses and other living expenses

Renfrewshire South MSP Tom Arthur said: “The Scottish Welfare Fund is one of the important steps the SNP Scottish Government is taking to protect East Renfrewshire from Tory cuts and to make sure more people don’t fall into poverty.”

According to the Scottish Government, the number of crisis grant applications is continuing to increase across the country.

East Renfrewshire MP Paul Masterton said: “It is important to note that total applications to the Scottish Welfare Fund in East Renfrewshire declined by five per cent in July to September 2017 compared to July to September 2016.

“The best way to prevent people having to make applications is by making sure people in East Renfrewshire can keep more of their own money, growing our economy and creating jobs.”