FREEDOM of Information figures supplied by the Department for Work and Pensions have shown that Fife has lost out on £3,232,951.80 due to cuts to disability benefit instituted by the UK Government.

The Cowdenbeath and Kinglassie areas have been particularly hit.

The information – requested by investigative news outlet The Ferret – shows the number of people who have lost out on social security benefits following the change from Disability Living Allowance to Personal Independence Payments.

And local MSPs Annabelle Ewing Jenny Gilruth and have strongly criticised the effect this is having on their constituents.

The welfare cuts – taking a total of £56 million away from communities across Scotland – have hit the poorest hardest, leaving vulnerable and disabled people across Fife without enough money to live off.

Glenrothes, which includes Kinglassie, has been hardest hit, with PIP recipients losing out on £1,066.540.

Westminster constituencies of Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline & West Fife and North East Fife have also suffered losing out on £866,564, £766,576 and £533,270 respectively.

Commenting, Glenrothes and Mid Fife MSP, Jenny Gilruth said: “Tory welfare cuts have snatched over £1 million from the most vulnerable in Glenrothes. This is absolutely devastating the communities I represent.

“Glenrothes has been hardest hit - but across Fife every constituency has been affected. I see the affects of these cuts on a daily basis - our welfare system is meant to look after people. Instead the Tories' cuts are punishing the poorest. It is shameful.

“The Scottish Government is establishing a new social security agency, which puts dignity and respect at its heart. However, these figures continue to show just how damaging Tory welfare cuts have been.

“Only with full powers over social security can Scotland treat all of those in need of support with the respect they deserve, not the cruelty they currently face under a toxic Tory government.”

Annabelle Ewing MSP for Cowdenbeath added: “I am appalled at the extent to which my constituents have lost out as DLA claims have been re-assessed with the transition to PIP.

“This is the austerity agenda in action. No doubt, Tories will see these figures as a great saving; to me they are a downright disgrace, a damning indictment of everything that is wrong with the Westminster Government and the way in which it shelters the very rich while attacking those who have very little.

“The job of Government should be to help those in need, not to punish them. I am proud of the Scottish Government’s record in that regard: where possible, stepping in to mitigate the worst excesses of the Tories and working to build a fairer welfare system for the future here in Scotland.”