MORE than 3,000 Inverclyde children are living in households which are receiving less Universal Credit than they are entitled to as a result of debt deductions.

The figure accounts for 55 per cent of the total number of children living in recipient households in the area.

The deductions can be taken for several reasons, including the repayment of energy bills.

Of the £120,000 deducted in Inverclyde, around half was taken for the purpose of repaying advance loans from the UK Government.

These loans are taken out by many families who face a five-week wait for their first Universal Credit payment.

On average, families in Inverclyde are seeing deductions of £73 per month.