SCOTTISH Labour figures slammed both Tories and the SNP as they called out the British government’s disastrous universal credit policy and the Scottish government’s failure to mitigate its effects.

Opening a discussion about the policy at Labour’s Scottish conference in Dundee, Midlothian MP Danielle Rowley painted a bleak picture of its impacts.

She referenced the film I, Daniel Blake and described instances of constituents left relying on foodbanks following delays and administrative errors.

Kelly Drummond, a mother and carer who is in receipt of universal credit, spoke about her experience of the benefit.

“I’m in rent arrears because they didn’t know how to handle universal credit,” she said. “They had me filling in forms for a benefit that no longer existed.”

Unison delegate Kay Sillars echoed concerns about the administration of universal credit, but warned against blaming errors and delays rather than the policy itself.

“It’s been hard to tell whether it’s mistakes in the system or the system itself,” she said. “But increasingly, it seems to be that the system itself simply doesn’t work.”

Responding to claims that working people are increasingly relying upon foodbanks and the social security system, Ms Sillars told conference: “We’re not talking about people on zero-hours contracts or with traditional ‘bad’ employers – people who should be able to afford to eat are going to foodbanks.”

Social security spokesperson Mark Griffin highlighted a shocking statistic from the PCS union, which claimed that 40 per cent of staff responsible for administering universal credit are also in receipt of it.

He also attacked the Scottish government for not doing enough under devolved powers to mitigate the effects of Tory austerity or to tackle poverty in Scotland more widely.