A minister in the Free Church of Scotland has urged the Scottish National Party to do more to encourage the traditional family in light of plans to eliminate marriage tax breaks.

The SNP has recently confirmed that it would get rid of the £200 'token' gesture towards families in an independent Scotland.

Reverend David Robertson, who is also director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity, has criticised this proposal, arguing that the SNP "have resorted to a cheap populism and hidden behind the guise of 'discrimination'".

"We appreciate and agree with the fact that better childcare provision is needed - but the Scottish Government are missing the point - which is that the best childcare provision is made within the family," he said.

"We believe the government should 'discriminate' in favour of those who work hard, who want to be educated, those who want social justice, and especially those who want to retain the traditional family."

He went on to label the disintegration of the family as "the great social and economic tragedy of our generation", and concluded that it is up to the government to work against further family breakdown.

"Instead of playing along with that we would hope any Scottish Government would seek to reverse it," he stressed.

This news comes as the UK Government plans to give low income married couples a tax break of up to £200 a year from 2015.