Welfare cuts taking effect today (1 April) will remove money from some of the poorest Scots and undermine efforts to reduce child poverty, say the Scottish Greens.
Major changes to the Employment and Support Allowance mean that those claiming the Work Related Activity version of the benefit from today will see their entitlement reduced by approximately £30 per week.
Scottish Parliament Information Centre research commissioned by Green MSPs shows that the changes will take £145m from the Scottish economy over the next four years.
Additionally, Child Tax Credits will become restricted to the first two children in a family.
Lothian MSP, Alison Johnstone said: “Sick and disabled claimants seeking work will now get the same level of benefits as people on JSA unemployment benefit, even though the costs of finding work tend to be higher for those with such barriers to employment. This cut is fundamentally unjust.
“The way the UK government has justified this shows how they have not thought through the consequences for Scottish claimants. Westminster claims they are putting this ‘saved’ money into increased support to help these recipients back into work, but responsibility for doing this is largely devolved to Scotland and the money for this support is being cut by 87%.
“The two child limit on Child Tax Credits could seriously impact on attempts to reduce and eradicate child poverty in Scotland. I think it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Scottish Government needs a specific strategy to counter benefit cuts impacting upon children if it wants to make progress in meeting child poverty targets.”
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