Disabled kids are being forced to wait months to access a lifeline payment from the devolved benefits agency.
Processing times for Child Disability Payment have risen to 106 days - well over three months.
Average call waits for general benefit queries have also jumped as Social Security Scotland struggles to cope with rising demand.
Labour MSP Paul O’Kane said: "The SNP promised us a fairer, more humane social security system but instead people are waiting for months on end for lifeline support.
“It is shameful that disabled children are waiting longer and longer for lifeline support in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
“The SNP must get a grip of these appalling waits and deliver the functioning social security system Scotland needs.”
The Dundee-based body is in charge of fourteen benefits after social security became a shared power with Westminster.
Over 70,000 children and young people receive CDP, which benefits under sixteens.
The latest annual accounts show that many claims are not being processed quickly.
The median average processing time rose from 104 working days to 106 in September this year.
The number of applications that took over 141 working days - nearly five months - now stands at 19%.
Separate figures show the average call wait time for SSS benefits was twelve minutes and fifty five seconds in 2021/22.
But this year Scots are enduring average waits of twenty two minutes and seventeen seconds.
SSS says there has been a big increase in calls this year, adding that wait times have fallen in recent months.
O’Kane hit out: “This drastic increase in call wait times tells the tale of an overwhelmed and overworked social security system.
“It’s not good enough for the SNP to say this was anticipated due to greater demand - they should have anticipated this and prepared for it properly.
Scottish politics
A Social Security Scotland spokesperson said of call waits: “We have already taken action to reduce call waiting times including increasing the numbers of people working on our phone lines at peak times.
“Call waiting times continue to be a priority.
“There was a 147% increase in the number of calls we received last year compared to the previous year. This is due to the launch of new benefits and expansion of others.
“Reducing call waiting times is a priority for us. We have already taken action including increasing the number of people working on our phone lines at peak times."
They said of the CDP: “Since launch, almost £400 million has been paid to families of disabled children and young people through Child Disability Payment.
“The latest published figures show we processed more applications in the last quarter than any other since the benefit launched - around 25% more than the previous quarter. Our latest client survey showed that 88% rated their overall experience with Social Security Scotland as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
“We know that some people have waited too long for a decision. We’re taking urgent action to speed this up and expect to see improvements in the coming months.
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