benefits – Page 27 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Tacking Poverty and Building A Fairer Country

Speech by the Social Justice Secretary, Shona Robison, opening yesterday’s Tackling Poverty and Building A Fairer Country debate

Presiding Officer, I am pleased to open this debate on the urgent need for us to tackle poverty and build a fairer, more equal country.

We must seize the opportunity, build upon our strong efforts to date, and use every lever at our disposal to bring about the change needed to tackle this problem.

We already invest around £2 billion each year in support for people on low incomes, including over £672 million targeted at children. We have a strong focus on those at greatest disadvantage, including disabled people. And we are supporting innovative action with our £50 million Tackling Child Poverty Fund.

But we must do more. That is why we have committed a wide range of ambitious action to be delivered in the first 100 days of this Parliament – maintaining the tremendous pace taken of change throughout the COVID pandemic.

This is a priority across all Ministerial portfolios. No one action will bring about the change needed, it needs all parts of government and broader society to work together and to impact the drivers of poverty reduction – increasing household incomes from work, reducing costs on essentials and maximising incomes from social security.

The eradication of poverty and building a fairer more equal country must be a national mission for government, for our parliament and for our society. We must try, where possible, to unite on this issue and work together to create a fairer Scotland.

Backed by over £1 billion of additional funding, our response to the pandemic shows that we can make change happen at the pace and scale required to support people and improve their lives. And we wand to build on this can do approach.

We delivered free school meal support during all school holidays and periods of remote learning for children from low income families – helping to tackle food insecurity during the pandemic. We will continue this whilst expanding Free School Meal support to all primary pupils, which will start within the first 100 days of this Parliament.

Also, in our first 100 days we will complete the roll-out of 1,140 hours of funded Early Learning and Childcare and have set out the next stage of our ambition to expand childcare further and develop a wraparound childcare system, providing care before and after school, all year round. This will make an important contribution to children’s development and will unlock the potential of parents in the labour market.

We will also deliver our £20 million summer programme for pupils, helping children socialise, play and reconnect – an essential investment to support the wellbeing of all children and young people [backed by £7.5 million from our Tackling Child Poverty Fund].

Through two Pandemic Support Payments of £100 to low income families with children we put money directly into the pockets of those who needed it most.

Building upon this approach, we will effectively pay the Scottish Child Payment through introducing bridging payments of £520 for families not yet eligible for the Payment, with £100 to be paid to families this summer. We will also provide £130 to every household who received Council Tax Reduction in April, reaching around 500,000 households.

I am pleased I can also make two announcements.

First, building on the practical support we offered during the pandemic, we will be providing the British Red Cross with a further £250,000 to continue their cash-first crisis support to those most at risk of destitution. This includes help to those impacted by the UK Government’s hostile policies that exclude them from most mainstream supports including the Scottish Welfare Fund.

And secondly, in recognition of the importance of listening to families affected by poverty, we will trial Family Wellbeing Budgets to put families firmly in control of the support they need. This new support will be delivered in partnership with the Hunter Foundation and will help to improve people’s wellbeing and capabilities.

Presiding offer, where we have the powers we are making a difference to people’s lives.

Nowhere is this more evident than in our approach to housing. Scotland has led the way in the across the UK with almost 100,000 affordable homes delivered since 2007, over 68,000 of which were for social rent. This is making a significant difference to people right across the country, and particularly for families with children.

We want to deliver a further 100,000 affordable homes by 2032. It is our aim that at least 70% of those homes will be for social rent, helping to tackle child poverty and homelessness.

But to tackle poverty effectively we must deliver a fair work future for Scotland, and we are working hard to do just that just now – but we are constrained by the powers available to us.

We cannot accept a future where two thirds of children living in poverty come from working households and where people are forced to rely on benefits to top-up their earnings.

We have to transform workplaces to tackle poverty and long-standing labour market inequalities, such as the disability employment gap and the barriers to employment faced by people from minority ethnic backgrounds.

With full powers over employment we could, as a minimum, ensure that all employees in Scotland receive the Real Living Wage, ensuring that their wages represent the true cost of living.

We could outlaw unfair fire and hire tactics, prohibiting employers from dismissing employees and subsequently re-employing them on diminished terms and conditions, and we could ban inappropriate and exploitative use of zero hour contracts, giving people the certainty about their working hours – ensuring they can plan their lives and incomes.

That’s why I have asked all party leaders to support our request to the UK Government for the full devolution employment powers to this parliament. So we can tackle poverty with the powers we need to make the change.

Social security is also an important tool to tackle poverty, and again those powers don’t lie in our hands. 85% of spending remains at Westminster alongside income replacement benefits such as Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance.

If we didn’t already need it, the pandemic further evidenced that the UK welfare system is not fit for purpose and risks undermining hard won progress. This is the system people in Scotland have to rely on and we shouldn’t have to mitigate against polices we disagree with like the £80 million we spent last year on Discretionary Housing Payments to mitigate the bedroom tax in full and support people with housing – we could be investing in other anti-poverty measures. If we had the powers here we would be able to do that.

The removal of the £20 uplift to Universal Credit is a callous act which will push 60,000 families across Scotland, including 20,000 children, into poverty and will result in families unable to work receiving, on average, £1,600 less per year than they would have done a decade ago – a decade ago – in 2011.

That’s a massive threat to the progress we could make here. We could be delivering the doubling of the Scottish child payment with one hand, only to see it removed by Westminster welfare policies with the other. Surely there is no-one across this chamber that can think that isin any way a good idea or a fair system?

We need to make significant investment into the pockets of those who need it most need. The Scottish child payment does that. That’s why it’s so important.

We have urged the UK Government to make the changes needed and to deliver a social security system which is fit purpose – scrapping harmful policies such as the two child cap, the rape clause, the benefit cap and 5 week wait under Universal Credit. Unfortunately, our calls, alongside many charities, organisations, and even the UN Poverty Rapporteur have been ignored. It’s time for full powers to come here so we can make the difference.

We have already shown we can make a difference – a public service based on human rights with respect and dignity at its heart and viewed as an investment in the people of Scotland. Principles we enshrined in law.

Through our powers, we are tackling child poverty head on, with the Scottish Child Payment, which currently pays £40 every four weeks for every eligible child under 6. We are committed to doubling this to £80, making even greater impact.

Alongside our Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods we are providing over £5,300 of direct financial support for families by the time their first child turns six and further for subsequent children as we don’t put a cap on children. These payments are making a real difference to low income families, helping them to access the essentials they need.

That support is unmatched anywhere else in the UK.

Presiding officer, our next steps will build on the strong foundation we have set, and will be taken forward at pace these changes. No one who sits in this parliament, whatever their political beliefs, can underestimate the scale of the challenge that we face.

I want to take that forward and I’m pleased to work with anyone across this chamber who wants to join me in doing that.

Social Security Scotland: Are you entitled to family payments?

For local help and advice about your benefits contact Granton Information Centre, telephone 0131 552 0458, 0131 551 2459 or email info@gic.org.uk

Best Start Grant boost for parents

Low income parents are being encouraged to apply for the financial support they are eligible for. This year’s Best Start Grant School Age Payment opens today to families who get tax credits or certain other benefits and have a child who was born between 1 March 2016 and 28 February 2017.

Even if the child is not starting school, eligible parents and carers should still apply before the closing date on 28 February 2022.

The payment is part of five family payments delivered by Social Security Scotland that also include: Best Start Foods, Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment and Scottish Child Payment.

Best Start Foods payments are set to increase to £4.50 per week on 1 August to support low income families to buy healthy food for children under the age of three.

To maximise the support available to families, income thresholds that apply to certain qualifying benefits are also set to increase.

Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “The Scottish Government is working hard to tackle poverty and to create a fairer society, with the powers and resources that we have.

“As part of this, we are set to increase our Best Start Foods payments within the first 100 days of this new term of government, and we are determined to make sure families with young children get all the financial help that is available.

“We are providing support worth about £5,000 by the time a child turns six through our Best Start Grant, Best Start Foods and the Scottish Child Payment. People can apply for these payments on one simple, straightforward form – and I urge all those who are eligible to make sure they apply by visiting mygov.scot/beststart or calling 0800 182 2222.

“Access to financial support is important and we want people get the money they are entitled to. So please check if you’re eligible and, if so, make sure to apply – and let others know too, so that together we can help build a fairer society here in Scotland.”

Children’s Commissioners appeal to UK Government to end ‘discriminatory’ two-child limit on benefits

The Children’s Commissioners of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have today published a letter they have sent to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions calling for an end to the two-child limit on Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit.

In the letter, the Commissioners state that the policy, which disallows benefits payments to the third and subsequent children born after April 2017 in most circumstances, is ‘a clear breach of children’s human rights’ that “is inconsistent with the commitments made by the UK through the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The UK Parliament’s Work and Pensions Committee will today hear evidence from Bruce Adamson, Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland who will present the collective views of the Commissioners in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, that the efforts of their devolved governments to tackle child poverty are being restricted by UK benefits rules.

He will talk about the impact of current welfare benefits on child poverty in Scotland and explain that even before Covid-19, poverty represented the greatest human rights issues facing children.

Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland, Bruce Adamson, said: “With more than a quarter of a million children affected, poverty is the most significant human rights issue facing children in Scotland. Living in poverty affects every aspect of a child’s life, including their educational attainment and mental and physical health.  

“The UK’s approach to poverty was examined in 2019 by the United Nations’ top expert on poverty and human rights who highlighted that it is political decisions by government that are leading to disastrous levels of poverty.

“When Professor Alston came to Scotland to meet with children and their families he heard from them about the serious impact that poverty is having on their human rights. Now after over a year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation for children in Scotland has become much worse.”

The open letter from the Commissioners to the Right Honourable Thérèse Coffey, MP states that the two-child limit breaches children’s rights to an adequate standard of living and is contributing to a rising gap in poverty levels between families with three or more children and smaller households.

The Commissioners note that the policy also has disproportionate impacts on social groups where larger families are more common, such as some minority faith and ethnic groups and in Northern Ireland where families are larger than the rest of the UK.

Bruce Adamson added: “The Scottish Government has taken some action to reduce the number of children in poverty including rolling out the Scottish Child Payment during the pandemic, however I remain concerned that children’s rights are continuing to be breached in Scotland by the two-child limit on child tax credit and universal credit. That is why we have taken the step of writing to the UK Government to urge that this policy is reversed.

“We will continue to hold our devolved governments to account in relation to their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights, but these governments can only go so far in their efforts to ensure children and their families get the support they are entitled to while this discriminatory policy also remains in force at a UK level.”

The Commissioners conclude their letter by stating that the ‘levelling up’ agenda signalled in the Queen’s Speech earlier this month must start by discontinuing the two-child policy: ‘With the focus in the Queen’s speech in May 2021 on ‘levelling up’, there can be no excuse for continuing to breach children’s rights through this discriminatory policy that will continue to harm and prevent children and families from moving beyond the impact of the global pandemic.’

Letter-from-CCommissioners-to-TCoffey Download

Scottish Child Payment helps nearly 79,000 young people

New benefit to tackle child poverty pays out £3.6 million since February

An estimated 78,775 children have already benefitted from Scottish Child Payment since its launch.

The benefit, which is unique to Scotland, is intended to help low-income families with the costs of raising a child. It gives qualifying parents and carers £40 every four weeks for each child under six.

A total of 92% of the applications received and processed have been approved, and payments started in February.

Applications were received from people living in all 32 local authorities in Scotland, with the highest number of 17,330 from Glasgow City.

Parents and carers are able to apply for all eligible children in their household in a single application and can also apply for Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods at the same time.

Scottish Child Payment is in addition to the UK wide Child Benefit.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Security Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “It is great to see so many families benefitting from the Scottish Child Payment and that it is making a positive impact on the lives of so many children. We are working hard to tackle child poverty and it is fantastic to see the number of households being supported so quickly after the payment’s launch.

“It is a benefit unique to Scotland within the UK, and has been hailed as a potential ‘game-changer’ in the fight against child poverty.

“It shows how, with the welfare powers we have gained, we are making a real, positive difference to the lives of young people and their families, boosting the life chances of children across the country.”

More than 104,000 applications were made between 9 November 2020 and 31 March 2021.

If you need local help or advice about your benefits, contact Granton Information Centre. Telephone 0131 552 0458, 0131 551 2459 or email info@gic.org.uk

Customers reminded to look out for tax credits renewals packs

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is sending out about 2.5 million annual renewals packs to tax credits customers from this week. Customers should check their details in the renewal pack and report any change in circumstances to HMRC.

The packs will be sent out over the next six weeks and all customers should receive theirs by 4 June.

HMRC recognises that many tax credits customers will have been affected by the pandemic and may have earned less money than in previous years. It is important that customers check the details contained in their annual renewal pack are correct, including income details.

Renewing online is quick and easy. Customers can log into GOV.UK to check on the progress of their renewal, be reassured it is being processed and know when they will hear back from HMRC. Customers can also use the HMRC app on their smartphone to:

renew their tax credits
check their tax credits payments schedule, and
find out how much they have earned for the year

Tax credits help working families with targeted financial support, so it is important that people don’t miss out on money they are entitled to.

If there is a change in a customer’s circumstances that could affect their tax credits claims, they must report the changes to HMRC.

Circumstances that could affect tax credits payments include changes to:

· living arrangements

· childcare

· working hours, or

· income (increase or decrease)

Customers do not need to report any temporary falls in their working hours as a result of coronavirus. They will be treated as if they are working their normal hours until the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme closes.

Criminals can take advantage of tax credits renewals to text, email or phone taxpayers offering ‘rebates’ or threatening them with arrest if they don’t pay bogus tax owed. Many scams mimic government messages to look authentic.

If someone contacts a customer claiming to be from HMRC, asks for bank or other personal details, threatens arrest or demands that they transfer money, it might be a scam.

Check GOV.UK for HMRC’s scams checklist, and to find out how to report tax scams and recognise genuine HMRC contact.

Customers can get help and information on renewing tax credits:

on GOV.UK: manage your tax credits
using our webchat service, by going to GOV.UK and searching ‘tax credits general enquiries’
by tweeting @HMRCcustomers or posting on HMRC’s Facebook page with general queries
by using the HMRC app, available via your phone’s app store
by calling the tax credits helpline: 0345 300 3900

Everyone Aboard: Scotland’s political leaders urged to commit to expansion of free bus travel

Over 100 organisations from across Scotland have today written to the leaders of Scotland’s political parties, urging them to commit to a radical extension of free bus travel, in a move that they say would have a transformative impact on the lives of people across Scotland’s communities.

The call has been made as part of the Poverty Alliance’s Everyone Aboard campaign, which asks for their support in extending fre bus travel to under 25s and people on Universal Credit and other low-income benefits.

The coalition of organisations – coordinated by the Poverty Alliance and including Friends of the Earth Scotland, the Scottish Youth Parliament and Barnardo’s Scotland – are making the call at a time of growing poverty in Scotland, with recent Scottish Government statistics showing over 1 million people in Scotland are now living in the grip of poverty.

Bus travel will, the letter states, be critical in stemming the rising tide of pandemic-related youth unemployment, with bus travel particularly important for young people and people on low incomes to help them access the labour market. Without this action, the organisations have warned, they “risk being left behind in our economic and social recovery.”

Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, said: “We are calling on the leaders of Scotland’s political parties to take the bold, far-reaching action to help loosen the grip of poverty on people’s lives. Removing the barrier to transport would be a significant step towards building a Scotland where everyone is included, no matter their income.

“This move would also help advance gender equality, as women disproportionately rely on public transport to access jobs, healthcare and activities to boost their wellbeing.

“Lone parents, who are predominantly women, would particularly benefit. Expanding the use of public transport will play an important role in reducing Scotland’s emissions and responding to the climate emergency.

“Extending free bus travel is a key way the next Scottish Government can help make Scotland a greener and more just place for us all to live.”

Mollie McGoran MSYP, Trustee of the Scottish Youth Parliament, said: “Young people and people on low incomes have been some of the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and so must be put at the heart of the recovery.

“That’s why we support the aims of the Poverty Alliance’s Everyone Aboard campaign to provide free bus travel for young people and people on low incomes in Scotland.

“We believe that Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government should provide funding to support initiatives which make it easier, cheaper, and safer for young people to use active and sustainable travel options.

“Our 2018 national campaign All Aboard found young people feel bus fares are too high. The cost of public transport creates barriers to participation which are denying young people and those on low incomes access to opportunities, and this proposal would be a great step in the right direction.”

Gavin Thomson, Air Pollution Campaigner, Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “Transport is the biggest emitting sector in Scotland. To meet our climate change targets, bold action must be taken to promote cleaner forms of travel, like public transport, and lead a just transition away from fossil fuel private car use.

“Extending free bus travel to all young people under 25 and those on Universal Credit will form an important part of the solution and help ensure no one is left behind as we transform our transport system.

“The upcoming Scottish Parliament election provides political parties an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to tackling climate change. We must seize it.”

The full letter can be read here: Everyone Aboard letter to Scotland’s party leaders