Today (1 April) is day one of the Westminster government’s controversial welfare reforms. The Scottish government pre-empted the changes with two statements on the eve of the changes:
If the UK Government proceed to impose their plans for the bedroom tax on Scotland then Scotland must get its fair share of funds to deal with both the human and financial impact, Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess said yesterday.
In a letter to the UK Welfare Reform Minister Lord Freud, Mrs Burgess (picured below) demanded a fair deal for Scotland to address the potentially devastating impact of the bedroom tax, which is set to impoverish families and individuals.
The Scottish Government is completely opposed to the bedroom tax, which will affect 16,000 families with children in Scotland, but if UK Ministers proceed with cuts then Scotland must get its fair share of Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) funding, says Mrs Burgess.
Despite both Scotland and London having the same number of households hit by the bedroom tax, Lord Freud is set to award London with £56.5 million of DHP compared to only £10 million in Scotland.
Welfare Minister Burgess said: “The bedroom tax is a socially divisive measure that will increase social inequalities across Scotland. It’s a policy that the Scottish Government is totally against as it hits our most vulnerable citizens in these already challenging economic conditions.
“This is a policy devised in London on the basis of housing benefit increases and overcrowding. However, in inflation-adjusted terms, 93 per cent of the housing benefit increase is attributable to the situation in England whilst London has almost two and a half times the level of overcrowded households compared to Scotland.
“We have consistently made that case to UK Government Ministers that we are opposed to these cuts – if they proceed to impose their plans then Scotland must get its fair share of funds to deal with both the human and financial impact.
“The small levels of DHP in Scotland is woefully inadequate and unfair to deal with the impact and scale of this policy.
“Civic Scotland is united in opposition to the bedroom tax and this Government has already taken action to strengthen the protection against eviction for rent arrears in advance of the introduction of the tax. From 1 August 2012 we brought pre-action requirements for rent arrears into force to ensure that proceedings for eviction is always the last resort.
“We are also providing an extra £2.5 million to social landlords for advice services to ensure there is support on hand for people who will lose housing benefit due to the under occupancy measures and other housing benefit cuts being introduced by Westminster from April.
“The UK Government’s agenda is completely at odds with the values of the people of Scotland and the aspirations that this Government has for our nation. Only through independence can Scotland have the levers required to create a welfare system that is aligned to Scottish needs and values.”
Thousands of vulnerable people in Scotland will be protected from increased Council Tax bills following the UK Government’s abolition of council tax benefit this week, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth John Swinney announced yesterday.
Around 560,000 people will receive support to ensure they are not affected by the UK Government’s 10 per cent cut in funding for Council Tax Benefit successor arrangements.
The Scottish Government and local authorities in Scotland are working in partnership to invest £40 million in 2013/14 to bridge the funding gap and mitigate the impact of the UK Government’s benefit cuts.
Mr Swinney (pictured below) said: “Hard working and vulnerable people are having to bear the brunt of these Westminster benefit cuts. Instead of protecting our poorest households, Westminster has responded to this recession by imposing deeply damaging welfare cuts which will make it far harder for people to meet the rising cost of living.
“To ensure households across Scotland do not face additional burdens the Scottish Government and Scotland’s councils are providing £40 million in 2013/14 to ensure that around 560,000 people in Scotland are protected from this reduction.
“Whilst Council tax bills will be increasing in many areas of England as a result of benefit cuts we are using the limited resources we have to ensure vulnerable people do not have to face increasing bills.
“We are determined to do everything that we reasonably can to help those who need it most, however we cannot meet every Westminster cut. We are making available an extra £2.5 million to social landlords to help them ensure that people affected by housing benefit changes have the advice and support they need.
“And we are providing £5.4 to organisations such as Citizens Advice to help those affected by benefit reforms. This extra support will assist social landlords in their efforts to engage directly with affected tenants and seek to identify ways in which they can deal with the impact of the changes.
“These unjust policies show why we need the powers of independence to protect vulnerable people rather than simply trying to cushion the blows in Scotland. It would be far better to control benefits and welfare so unfair policies like abolishing Council Tax benefit are not even considered, let alone implemented. “
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