Councils across the country have been urged to use thousands of pounds left unspent during the height of the pandemic.
The Scottish Government has issued an appeal for higher uptake of the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) designed to help families.
It comes after the Poverty and Inequality Commission released a report on Monday revealing that only £8.6m of the SWF was spent in April and May – down from £9.7m the year before.
The commission’s chairman, Bill Scott, said it was “unacceptable” that the fund was not being promoted properly.
Councils have argued that lockdown restrictions and lack of tenants moving impacted the number of grants dished out.
In Moray, around 8% of the fund was used during the height of the pandemic in April and May.
A Moray Council spokesman said that other methods proved to be “more effective” like a special food fund which has distributed £222,000 to more than 640 households.
He added: “The main reasons for the reduction in spending on SWF crisis grants is the successful and rapid introduction of our own Flexible Food Fund scheme which provides up to two monthly payments towards food costs.”
In the Highlands, 7% of the cash was spent as “restrictions on the movement of people and reduced turnover of tenancy” had an effect.
In Aberdeen, 17% of the money was spent during the pandemic’s peak months and Aberdeenshire Council used 7% of the “vital” funding.
