This morning, around 5.5 million families across the United Kingdom are waking up £1,040-a-year worse off due to the Prime Minister imposing the biggest ever overnight cut to social security.
Despite fierce opposition from across the political spectrum, his government has pressed ahead with this controversial cut which will cause immense, immediate and avoidable hardship.
As the cut comes into effect today, the Prime Minister must face the five most serious consequences of his cut:
Half a million more people pulled into poverty, including 200,000 children.
Makes social security wholly inadequate by reducing the main rate of out-of-work support to its lowest level in real terms since around 1990 and its lowest ever level as a proportion of average earnings.
Around 20% of all working-age families across the UK have lost £1,040 a year. 6 in 10 single parent families will be affected by this cut.
1.7 million people who will experience this cut to Universal Credit are unable to work – due to caring for others, disability, or illness – a promise of higher wages will do nothing to help them.
The cut takes £6 billion of spending power out of local economies. The cut has the most severe impact in Yorkshire and the Humber, the North East, North West and West Midlands, although no region will be left unscathed.
Helen Barnard, Deputy Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:“Today the Prime Minister has imposed the biggest ever overnight cut to social security. It makes a mockery of his mission to level up.
“Despite overwhelming opposition, he is ploughing ahead with a cut which fundamentally undermines the adequacy of our vital social security system as we face a cost-of-living crisis. This is not building back better, it’s repeating the same mistakes made after the last financial crisis.
“The Government says a key test of levelling up is improving living standards, yet they have just made around 5.5 million low-income families £1,040 a year worse off. People’s bills won’t get £87-a-month cheaper from today, in fact they are going up. Ministers’ arguments in recent days beg the question: has the party that created Universal Credit forgotten the purpose of the system?
“The Prime Minister is abandoning millions to hunger and hardship with his eyes wide open. Low-income families urgently need him to reinstate this vital lifeline.”
Participants in the Covid Realities project responding to the Prime Minister’s comments on the eve of the cut:
“My husband has been in his job for 25 years +, he hasn’t received a pay rise in 5 years and has recently been told there’s no way he will get one anytime soon.
So I’m sorry but there’s no fix there for us. Once again the only option is to struggle and I’m tired of it.” – Emma, England, Covid Realities
“He has no idea how tough it is and how hard people are working to make ends meet!
It is sickness inducing that he completely misses the point that families will either be cold or hungry due to this cut.” – Kim, Wales, Covid Realities
“Fuel and food is on the increase and … families on a low income cannot afford to absorb these costs.
“It is short-sighted to not think of the long term costs involved when already impoverished working families cannot sustain themselves.” – Aurora, England, Covid Realities
“So our prime minister has said he knows it is tough for people on low incomes, does he honestly? … How as parents can we support our children when we are going without food, hungry and unable to concentrate and even sleep at night with worry and stress, do you really understand?
… I would invite any MP to come and actually experience the day to day drain of living on low income and the impact that has on our mental and physical wellbeing.” – Caroline, Northern Ireland, Covid Realities
Political consequences:
413 parliamentary constituencies across Great Britain will see over a third of working-age families with children hit by the planned £1,040-a-year cut to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit.
Of these 413 constituencies, 191 are Conservative – 53 of which were newly won at the last general election or in a subsequent by-election.
In 35 local authorities across Great Britain, 50% or more of working-age families with children will be impacted by the planned cut.
“THE NASTY PARTY IS WELL AND TRULY BACK”
Edinburgh Pentlands SNP MSP Gordon MacDonald has condemned the £20 a week cut to Universal Credit, which comes into force today. The First Minister of Scotland, the First Minister of Wales and the First Minister of Northern Ireland have also condemned the measure.
The previous week, the Scottish Parliament voted overwhelming to support cancelling the Tory UK Government’s planned £20 a week cut to Universal Credit.
Gordon MacDonald also raised the matter with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, Shona Robison seeking information on what representations the Scottish Government has made to the UK Government.
Ms Robison confirmed that the Scottish Government had written to the UK Government on eight separate occasions since March 2020 to ask it to retain the much-needed £20 uplift. In addition on 30 August, Ms Robison joined colleagues from Wales and Northern Ireland to write to the UK Government to urge it to retain the uplift. They are yet to receive a response.
SNP MSP Gordon Macdonald for Edinburgh Pentlands said: “The Scottish Parliament overwhelmingly spoke and demanded the Tory UK Government halts their plans to scrap the uplift to Universal Credit.
“Sadly, we also witnessed every single Tory MSP failing to stand up to their Westminster bosses in opposing the £20 a week cut – the biggest welfare cut since the 1930s at the worst possible time. Even former Scottish Tory leader, Ruth Davidson and six former Tory DWP Secretary of States, opposed the cut.
“I am standing up for the 32,022 households impacted across Edinburgh, but the Tory Government at Westminster has now implemented their plans that will rip more than £1,000 a year out of the hands of the most vulnerable at a time when they need it most.
“I am quite frankly shocked, but not surprised, that the Scottish Tory MSPs not only voted to back the Universal Credit cut which will condemn thousands of families to poverty, but actively defended it – the Nasty Party is well and truly back.
“History will remember them for this – Scottish Tory MSPs are letting down thousands of families and children with this callous cut in favour of propping up their Tory chums in the UK Government who are imposing these policies on the people of Scotland.
“This demonstrates once again how the people of Scotland cannot afford to continue to suffer under Westminster control. We need to have the option of choosing a different path in a referendum which can give us the full powers of independence where we can build a fairer Scotland.”
From 1 December 2021, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will stop making payments of Child Benefit, Guardian’s Allowance and tax credits, into Post Office card accounts.
HMRC is urging customers who receive their payments via this method to act now so they still get their money on time.
Any tax credits, Child Benefit and Guardian’s Allowance customers who receive their benefits or payments via a Post Office card account have until 30 November 2021 to set up a new account and notify HMRC of the details so they can continue to receive their payments. Any suspended payments will be held and then paid to the customer once they notify HMRC of the new details.
If customers already have an alternative bank account, they can contact HMRC now to update their details. If they do not have an alternative, they should set up a new bank, building society or credit union account to receive their money.
Customers can use their Personal Tax Account to provide revised account details. Alternatively, Child Benefit customers can change their bank account details via GOV.UK or by contacting the Child Benefit helpline on 0300 200 3100.
Tax credits customers can change their bank account details by contacting the tax credits helpline on 0345 300 3900. If customers cannot open a bank account, they should contact HMRC.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak made the keynote speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester yesterday. On the week the Tories will cut the £20 Universal Credit lifeline, the Chancellor told the conference:
Whatever it takes.
That phrase, and those press conferences, were my introduction to so many of you as Chancellor.
It was daunting to face such a challenge in my first days in office. And what it also meant is that more than a year has gone by before I had the chance to meet you all properly. And that is why these last few days have been such a joy. Meeting you all face to face and hearing so many of you say to me “Wow, you’re even shorter in real life!”
Nothing can ever prepare you to become Chancellor, especially in recent times. There have been occasions where it really did feel that the world was collapsing. In those moments, there are certain things I fell back on. Yes, my family. Yes, my colleagues. Yes, my tremendous Treasury team.
And yes, the person who made all this possible, the person who delivered a thumping Conservative majority, my friend, our leader, the country’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
But the other thing I fell back on is something we all have in this room. Our values. Our Conservative values.
I believe in some straightforward things.
I believe that mindless ideology is dangerous. I’m a pragmatist. I care about what works, not about the purity of any dogma. I believe in fiscal responsibility. Just borrowing more money and stacking up bills for future generations to pay, is not just economically irresponsible. It’s immoral.
Because it’s not the state’s money. It’s your money.
I believe that the only sustainable route out of poverty comes from having a good job. It’s not just the pounds it puts in your pockets. It’s the sense of worth and self-confidence it gives you. So I will do whatever I can to protect people’s livelihoods, and create new opportunities too.
And when it comes to those new opportunities, I am very much a child of my time. I spent the formative years of my career working around technology companies in California. And I believe the world is at the beginning of a new age of technological progress which can transform jobs, wealth, and transformed lives.
So: pragmatism. Fiscal responsibility. A belief in work. And an unshakeable optimism about the future. This is who I am. This is what I stand for. This is what it will take. And we will do whatever it takes.
Our Plan is Working
And there can be no prosperous future unless it is built on the foundation of strong public finances.
And I have to be blunt with you. Our recovery comes with a cost.
Our national debt is almost 100% of GDP – so we need to fix our public finances. Because strong public finances don’t happen by accident. They are a deliberate choice. They are a legacy for future generations. And a safeguard against future threats.
I’m grateful, and we should all be grateful to my predecessors and their 10 years of sound Conservative management of our economy. They believed in fiscal responsibility. I believe in fiscal responsibility. And everyone in this hall does too.
And whilst I know tax rises are unpopular. Some will even say un-Conservative. I’ll tell you what IS un-Conservative.
Unfunded pledges.
Reckless borrowing.
And soaring debt.
Anyone who tells you that you can borrow more today, and tomorrow will simply sort itself out just doesn’t care about the future.
Yes, I want tax cuts. But in order to do that, our public finances must be put back on a sustainable footing.
Labour’s track record on the public finances speaks for itself.
Since 2010, we’ve had 5 Labour Leaders, 7 Shadow Chancellors and innumerable spending pledges. And in all that time they still haven’t got the message. The British people won’t trust a Party that isn’t serious with their money. That’s why they vote Conservative.
We must never forget that the fundamental economic differences between us and Labour run very deep.
Differences not just about debt and borrowing but about how to deal with the real pressures people face in their lives.
And right now, we are facing challenges to supply chains not just here but right around the world and we are determined to tackle them head on.
But tackling the cost of living isn’t just a political sound bite. It’s one of the central missions of this Conservative government.
Picture this: you’re a young family. You work hard, saving a bit each month. But it’s tough.
You have ambitions for your careers for your children.
You want to give them the best more than you had.
Now you tell me: Is the answer to their hopes and dreams, just to increase their benefits?
Is the answer to tell that young family the economic system is rigged against you, and the only way you stand a chance is to lean ever more on the state?
Be in no doubt, that is the essence of the Labour answer.
Not only does Labour’s approach not work in practice. It is a desperately sad vision for our future.
But there is an alternative. An approach focused on good work, better skills, and higher wages.
An approach that says: ‘Yes, we believe in you. We will help you. And you will succeed.”
And better still, it’s more than words. It’s a plan in action. A Conservative plan and Conference it is working.
We’re giving people the means and opportunities to help themselves
Governments rarely get to set the tests by which they will ultimately be judged.
And our test is jobs.
Remember, as economies around the world pulled the shutters down, forecasters were predicting unemployment to reach 12%. Millions of people were on the precipice of losing their jobs, their livelihoods, and their homes.
Well, the forecasts were wrong.
The unemployment rate is at less than 5% and falling. That’s lower than France, America, Canada, Italy, and Spain.
And we now have one of the fastest recoveries of any major economy in the world.
Now it wasn’t that the forecasters had bad models No. It’s just their models did not take account of one thing – and that was this Conservative Government. Our will to act and our plan to deliver.
An increased national living wage. The restart programme. Sector based work academies. Doubling work coaches. Job finding support. Traineeships. Apprenticeship incentives. Skills Bootcamps. And the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
All things we are doing that won’t just help people but will give them the means and opportunities to help themselves.
Our plan for the future
I believe in good work, better skills, and higher wages.
I believe that every person in this country has the potential to become something greater.
And I know that we, and only we, the Conservative party, are the ones who can make that happen.
And our economy cannot be what we need it to be without the courage, creativity and sheer force of will that each new generation brings.
Yet, at its peak just under 1 in 3 workers under 25 were on furlough. One in three.
That’s one million people who didn’t have the fall back of a career history or a network of contacts, and in many cases hadn’t even moved into their first job.
And so what did we do? We created the Kickstart scheme, up running and working in a matter of months. A landmark programme that is helping young people start exciting new careers.
And thanks to our plan, young people, just like John Chihoro who introduced me today, are starting those new jobs in their thousands.
So to give more young people the same chance as John, I can confirm we are expanding our successful Plan for Jobs into next year.
The Kickstart scheme extra support through the Youth Offer, the Job Entry Targeted Support scheme, and our Apprenticeship Incentives. All extended because we believe in the awesome power of opportunity.
And we are going to make sure that no young person in our country is left without it.
But what we do today means little if we don’t also have a plan for tomorrow.
A plan for the future.
A future economy shaped by the forces of science, technology, and imagination.
The years I spent in California left a lasting mark on me, working with some of the most innovative and exciting people in finance and technology. Watching ideas becoming a reality. Seeing entrepreneurs build new teams.
It’s not just about money.
I saw a culture, a mindset which was unafraid to challenge itself, reward hard work, and was open to all those with the talent to achieve.
The future is here
I look across the United Kingdom and that culture is here too in the young people I’ve already spoken about today, unencumbered by timidity and orthodoxy.
And it’s there in our willingness to take risks not just on companies, but on people.
People with the raw potential to create a wave of the most dynamic high growth companies. A wave that will reach the farthest corners of the world.
That optimism, that unshakeable belief that the future, can be different and better was also at the heart of Brexit.
I remember over five years ago being told that if I backed Brexit my political career would be over before it had even begun.
Well, I put my principles first. And I always will.
I was proud to back Brexit. Proud to back Leave.
And that’s because despite the challenges in the long term, I believed the agility flexibility and freedom provided by Brexit would be more valuable in a 21st century global economy than just proximity to a market.
That in the long term a renewed culture of enterprise willingness to take risks and be imaginative would inspire changes in the way we do things at home.
Brexit was never just about the things we couldn’t do. It was also about the things we didn’t do.
That’s why we introduced the super deduction, a UK first in tax policy which is triggering an explosion in capital investment.
That’s why we created the Help to Grow scheme another UK first to help small and medium sized companies digitize skill up and scale up.
That’s why we launched the Future Fund another UK first in government investment backing high potential start-ups.
My point is this: even if you can’t see it yet, I assure you, the future is here.
Now is the time to turn to the future
Last year alone the UK attracted more venture capital investment to our startups than France and Germany combined.
And along with enhanced infrastructure and improved skills, we are going to make this country not just a Science Superpower, not just the best place in the world to do business… I believe we’re going to make the United Kingdom the most exciting place on the planet.
Take Artificial Intelligence. Once the stuff of science fiction. Now it’s reality – and we’re a global leader.
The steam engine kicked off the industrial revolution. Computers delivered automation. The internet brought information exchange.
And as the latest general-purpose technology, AI has the potential to transform whole economies and societies.
If Artificial Intelligence were to contribute just the average productivity increase of those three technologies, that would be worth around £200 billion a year to our economy.
And so today, I am announcing that we will create 2,000 elite AI scholarships for disadvantaged young people and double the number of Turing AI World-Leading Research Fellows, helping to ensure that the most exciting industries and opportunities are open to all parts of our society.
New policy, focused on innovative technology, supporting jobs for the next generation, a sign of our ambition for the future.
Because that’s why we are here. All of us. That’s why we became members of the Conservative party.
That’s why you all give up so much of your time sacrificing things that are important to you in order to help build a better future.
You know, the longer I spend in this job, the more I realise that the worst parts of politics are driven by fear. Fear of change. Fear of losing. The fear of being wrong. Even fear of the future.
And when people get scared they create divisions. They say: “you’re either with us or you’re with them.” But you cannot make progress if you’re pitting people against each other.
That’s what you get from a tired, fearful sort of politics. We saw it last week in Brighton.
It’s not just that Labour don’t like us. They don’t even like each other.
Whereas we, the Conservatives, are now and always will be the party of business and the party of the worker.
The party of the private sector and the public sector.
A party for the old and the young.
The British people want a party that can get things done.
So, at just the moment when it feels like we’ve done enough, that we’ve gotten through, that we can take a rest, we must not stop.
Now is the time to show them that our plan will deliver.
And now is the time, at last, at long last, to finally turn to the future.
Thank you.
Responding to the Chancellor’s speech at Conservative Party Conference, Helen Barnard, Deputy Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said:“The Chancellor may say he has a plan for jobs but he has no plan for paying the bills.
“He spoke of doing whatever it takes to protect people’s livelihoods, yet he is cutting the incomes of around 5.5 million families by £1,040 a year on Wednesday when we are facing a cost of living crisis.
“It is completely wrong to suggest there is a trade-off between good jobs and adequate social security when they are both essential to improving people’s living standards.”
“This cut will impact many working families and inadequate social security makes it harder for people to seize opportunities whilst they struggle to stay afloat. We must ensure people who are sick, disabled or caring for others and therefore unable to work can meet their needs with dignity.
“To impose the biggest ever overnight cut to social security would be economically irresponsible which is why it is so fiercely opposed from across the political spectrum. The Government can’t credibly claim to be levelling up while levelling down people’s incomes. He must abandon this cut.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has joined with the First Minister of Wales and the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland to demand Prime Minister Boris Johnson “do the right thing” by reversing the decision to withdraw the £20-a-week uplift to Universal Credit.
In a rare joint intervention, the leaders of the devolved nations have warned in a letter that the UK Government “is withdrawing this lifeline just as the country is facing a significant cost-of-living crisis.”
They have urged the Prime Minister to “consider the moral, social and economic harms” of the of this cut, and “do the right thing” and reverse his government’s decision to withdraw this funding which will harm around 6 million people across the UK.
The First Minister, along with Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford and Northern Ireland First Minister and deputy First Minister Paul Givan and Michelle O’Neill say the move, which comes into effect this Wednesday, 6 October, is short sighted at a time of increases in the cost of food and fuel, rising inflation, the end of the furlough scheme, and imminent rise in National Insurance contributions.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I do not think there has been anything quite so morally indefensible in UK policy in recent times as the proposed cut to Universal Credit.
“At a time when we are facing the impact of the pandemic, Brexit and soaring costs, removing £20 per week from the lowest-income households simply cannot be defended in any way, shape or form.
“The planned cut represents the biggest overnight reduction to the basic rate of social security in more than 70 years and would sever a crucial lifeline for countless households across the UK at a time when budgets are already facing an unprecedented squeeze.
“It is an immoral, ill-thought out and ultimately counterproductive policy which simply must be stopped.
“Those on low incomes are going to find it difficult to feed their children, heat their homes, and pay their rent if the cut goes ahead. We have therefore united as the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to say to the Prime Minister: ‘Do not do this.’”
The full text of the letter is included below:
Dear Prime Minister
We are writing to call on you, with the utmost urgency, to reverse your Government’s short-sighted decision to withdraw the £20-per-week uplift to Universal Credit.
Your Government is withdrawing this lifeline just as the country is facing a significant cost-of-living crisis. This winter millions of people are facing an untenable combination of increases to the cost of food and energy, rising inflation, the end of the furlough scheme, and an imminent hike to National Insurance contributions.
There is no rationale for cutting such crucial support at a point when people across the UK are facing an unprecedented squeeze on their household budgets.
Within the last month, an overwhelming majority of elected members in Holyrood, the Senedd, Stormont and Westminster have voiced their opposition to this cut to Universal Credit, as have the four social security committees of each parliament. The four Children’s Commissioners of each nation, numerous charities and faith groups have also expressed their grave concerns as have millions of people who face additional and unnecessary hardship because of this cut to Universal Credit against the backdrop of a winter of hardship.
We note your Government’s announcement of a Household Support Fund – an acknowledgment that too many people will be unable to make ends meet this winter. Unfortunately, a £500 million fund handed out on a discretionary basis is wholly inadequate to making up the £6 billion shortfall in social security expenditure that will result from the cut to Universal Credit.
Your Government has repeatedly refused to conduct any impact analysis on the biggest overnight reduction to the basic rate of social security for more than 70 years.
As such, it is important that we draw your attention to the growing body of evidence and analysis about the harm this cut will inflict. Research by the Resolution Foundation and the Trussell Trust has highlighted the significant and devastating impact the cliff-edge withdrawal of the £20-a-week uplift to Universal Credit will have on family incomes, with an associated rise in food insecurity.
The Legatum Institute has produced sobering analysis highlighting that the £20-per-week uplift has kept 840,000 people, including 290,000 children, out of poverty in Q2 of 2021. It makes no sense at all to knowingly pursue a policy that will result in this immense and needless rise in child poverty and we ask you to consider the lasting harm and costs of this cut accordingly.
It is important to note that this will increase poverty and hardship without delivering any tangible social or economic benefits. The UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights said – when calling upon you to reverse this cut – that for a healthy and well-qualified workforce to emerge, your Government must provide adequate levels of social protection. Years of a freeze on benefits means Universal Credit has not kept pace with rising living costs. Further to this, rising inflation means that a basic rate of Universal Credit after this cut will hold less purchasing power than it did in March 2020.
To support a meaningful recovery from this pandemic we must first ensure the needs of our most vulnerable are met. This cut threatens to undermine the recovery by diminishing the capacity of six million people to make ends meet.
It is not too late for you to reverse the decision to take money out of the pockets of the poorest in society at a time when they are facing a serious cost of living crisis.
We, with the full support of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Scottish and Welsh Governments, urge you to consider the moral, social and economic harms of this cut, and do the right thing and reverse your decision to withdraw this lifeline.
A copy of this letter is being sent to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and relevant Secretary of States for the devolved nations.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is urging Working Tax Credit (WTC) customers to check if they need to update their working hours if these have reduced as a result of coronavirus.
During the pandemic, WTC customers have not needed to tell HMRC about temporary short-term reductions in their working hours as a result of coronavirus – for example if they were working fewer hours or were furloughed. It is one of several measures HMRC introduced to help those facing uncertainty around their hours.
If a WTC customer’s hours temporarily fell because of coronavirus, they have been treated as if they were working their normal hours.
Customers do not need to tell HMRC if they re-establish their normal working hours before 25 November 2021, but from then, they must do within the usual one-month window if they are not back to working their normal hours shown in their WTC claim.
Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:“We introduced this measure last year to help support working families. It is vital that Working Tax Credit claimants who have benefitted from it update HMRC with their working hours if they have reduced, and they won’t return to their normal level before 25 November.
“Anyone who is no longer eligible for Working Tax Credit due to a change in their circumstances may be able to apply for other UK Government support, including Universal Credit.”
Customers should continue to tell HMRC about any permanent changes to their circumstances within one month – for example if they are made redundant, lose their job or their hours change permanently during this time.
This will ensure only those who are entitled to tax credits receive them, otherwise those ineligible or due a lower rate of payment will have to pay them back later.
If customers receive tax credits they are not entitled to as a result of a change they will need to repay this money and may also have to pay a penalty if they do not let us know within one month.
HMRC is also reminding claimants that Post Office card accounts are closing. From 30 November 2021 HMRC will stop making payments of Child Benefit, Guardians Allowance and tax credits into Post Office card accounts.
Child Benefit and tax credits customers who use Post Office card accounts to receive their payments will need to notify HMRC of their new bank, building society or credit union account details. HMRC is encouraging customers to act now so they do not miss any payments once their Post Office account closes. They can contact HMRC’s helplines (0345 300 3900 for tax credits or 0300 200 3100 for Child Benefit) or use their Personal Tax Account.
Disabled people are to benefit from a ground-breaking new advocacy service which will support access to Scotland’s social security services.
The Scottish Government has committed £20.4 million over the next four years to the provision of the new and free programme, unique in the UK.
It will offer advocacy support to disabled people looking to access Scottish social security benefits.
These include current and future disability benefits such as Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment and Pension Age Disability Payment.
The service will be operational in the new year and is entirely independent of the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland. It will be available in each NHS board area and will create up to 100 new jobs across the country.
Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “The service will provide advocacy to anyone who is disabled and requires support to communicate their needs when accessing Scotland’s social security services.
“This assistance will be person-centred and advocates will provide the most appropriate form of support to each individual based on their circumstances.
“This is a new and independent free service, with no equivalent provided by DWP.
“It builds on our human rights-based approach and makes social security more accessible to disabled people in Scotland, ensuring their voices are heard.”
VoiceAbility, a charity with 40 years’ experience delivering advocacy services, has been awarded the contract to provide the service.
They will establish a new base and training centre in Glasgow and create up to 100 jobs over the four years. There will be at least one advocate in each NHS area at launch, with more jobs to be created as disability benefits are introduced.
VoiceAbility CEO Jonathan Senker said: “We are proud to launch this new independent advocacy service and we look forward to establishing a base in Scotland and taking on the staff to deliver it.
“The advocacy we provide will support disabled people to make sure their voices are heard when it matters most and that more people will get the support they’re entitled to.”
Brian Scott of the Glasgow Disability Alliance added: “Our members have highlighted the barriers that many disabled people face in accessing support to find out about the social security benefits they are entitled to – and to apply for them.
“We welcome this free advocacy service as it will ensure disabled people are more involved in the processes and decisions which affect them.
“In making social security more accessible to disabled people, it shows real evidence of a rights-based approach to providing services.”
Demonstrators gathered at High Riggs Jobcentre yesterday to demand the re-instatement of the £20 cut to Universal Credit. The protest was called by Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty in response to a call from Disabled People Against the Cuts for UK-wide protests.
Participants included disabled people, pensioners, workers and a group of school students.
Police attended but did not intervene.
The demonstrators denounced the UK government cut, due to be implemented from the end of this month. Protestors held placards with the hashtag #20MoreForAll, demanding the £20 increase be extended to “legacy benefits” like Job Seekers Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance.
Campaigners have raised alarm at the hardship which a £20 cut will cause to the six million Universal Credit claimants, who include the low paid, unemployed, families and sick and disabled people.
Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty leaflets distributed at the protest quoted research by the Child Poverty Action Group.
The research reveals that over the last decade nearly 100 cuts have been made to social security entitlement and the value of payments has fallen as social security rates have been either frozen or increased by less than inflation.
Thus even with the £20 increase a typical Universal Credit claimant would be hundreds of pounds worse off in 2021 than in 2010.
Ethel MacDonald of Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty said: “The brutal cut in Universal Credit is yet another example of governments attacking the poor to benefit the rich.
“This is also an attack on wages and conditions, aiming to force people to accept insecure low paid jobs. Many on Universal Credit are of course already in such badly paid work, since 39% of Universal Credit claimants are in employment.”
The ECAP spokesperson urged people to organise: “ We need to organise at the grass-roots to resist the cut to Universal Credit, the entire austerity agenda, and the whole profit-based system.
“Claimants need to join together and support each other – for example by accompanying each other to appointments and assessments.”
ECAP stress: “After today’s protest, the struggle against the cut continues. What’s more, we are opposing the DWP’s reckless return to compulsory jobcentre appointments – this endangers both claimants and jobcentre workers, due to the continuing covid threat. We totally oppose all sanctions, and urge claimants to contact us for solidarity.”
While MSPs will debate the Universal Credit cut at Holyrood today, the decision lies with Westminister. The UK Government insists the UC uplift was always intended to be a temporary measure and that their focus is on getting people into work.
Extra financial support for more than 19,400 disabled children and young people
Legislation which will lead to increased vital support to more than 19,400 children and young people to help their families heat their homes this winter has been laid in the Scottish Parliament.
The legislation extends the eligibility for the Child Winter Heating assistance to young people aged 16 to 18 in receipt of the enhanced daily living component of PIP (Personal Independence Payment).
If the legislation is passed, 5,000 additional families will receive the payments, which will also be backdated to last year when the payment was introduced.
Child Winter Heating Assistance is an annual payment of £202 to help families of a child or young person on certain disability benefits to heat their homes during the winter months. It is already available to those in receipt of the highest rated care component of Disability Living Allowance.
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “This extra money helps families of seriously disabled children and young people with the additional costs associated with heating their homes for longer periods.
“The Child Winter Heating Assistance is one of seven brand new benefits we have used using social security powers. I’m pleased that by extending eligibility, more than 5,000 more families will benefit from this £202 payment during the colder months.
“Getting this money to families automatically in winter will help them budget and balance the many financial pressures that they can face at this time of year.”
Background
the Child Winter Heating assistance was launched last year, and more than 14,000 payments worth a combined £2.8 million were made between November and mid-March
people do not need to apply as the payment will be made automatically by Social Security Scotland. Families will receive a letter of confirmation to coincide with the payment being made
to qualify for Child Winter Heating Assistance, people need to be aged 18 or under, and receive the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for children, receive the highest rate care component of Child Disability Payment, or be in receipt of the enhanced daily living component of PIP on at least one day between 20 September 2021 to 26 September 2021
this year’s Child Winter Heating Assistance payments will start from the end of November and payments will be made in batches over the winter months
this payment will be made automatically to the same account that people receive their Disability Assistance Living Allowance for children, Child Disability Payment or Personal Independence Payment payments to
for more information, contact Social Security Scotland through web chat at mygov.scot/contact-social-security-scotland or call the freephone helpline on 0800 182 2222
Around 148,000 children set to benefit from £320 uplift before Christmas
Low income families will benefit from a £320 uplift before Christmas as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling child poverty.
Eligible families with children in school will receive payments of £160 per child in October and December. Two Bridging Payments of £100 have already been made via local councils, taking the total to £520 this year.
The cash is equivalent to the Scottish Child Payment (SCP), a £10-a-week benefit which provides regular, additional financial support for families in receipt of qualifying benefits to assist with the costs of caring for a child aged under six years old.
SCP will be extended to all eligible under-16s by the end of 2022, with quarterly Bridging Payments made in the interim. The Scottish Government also intends to double the SCP to £20 per week as quickly as possible following the expansion.
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison will highlight the payments today when she opens a parliamentary debate on the commitments in the Programme for Government which aim to create a fairer society.
She said: “We are determined to build a better future for Scotland’s children and we know how important these payments will be to families in need this winter – particularly with rising fuel bills and Christmas just around the corner.
“Together the Scottish Child Payment and Bridging Payments will put an estimated £130 million in the pockets of low income families this year, providing support as we recover from the pandemic.
“Scottish Child Payment is already the most ambitious anti-poverty measure currently being undertaken anywhere in the UK and we have committed to doubling it to £20-a-week per child as soon as possible in this parliamentary term.
“It stands in stark contrast to the indefensible move by the UK Government to withdraw £20-a-week in Universal Credit from those who need it most.”
Councillor Gail Macgregor, COSLA’s Resources spokesperson, said: “Councils are pleased to be able to ensure that eligible low income families have access to an additional £520 this year and next through these Bridging Payments.
“It is important families who have been hardest hit by the pandemic have these vital additional funds as we move forward with the challenging recovery process.
“This demonstrates how local government can reach in and support families in our communities.”
Satwat Rehman, CEO of One Parent Families Scotland, said: “The SCP Bridging Payments have been a welcome support to many single parent families supported by One Parent Families Scotland, many of whom are struggling to make choices between heating their homes and feeding their children and themselves.
“These payments send a message to families that the Scottish Government is aware of their challenges and is actively trying to address them.
“With fuel prices due to rise with by an average 12%, single parent families remain at risk of falling deeper into poverty and debt in Scotland. More than ever, One Parent Families Scotland believes that regular, predictable, adequate income should be at the heart of tackling child poverty and achieving the national mission to end child poverty.”
