Life on the edge: fears over latest austerity cuts

Proposed round of welfare cuts could plunge many more into crisis

Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil today expressed concern at the further suffering and negative impact that will be caused if the UK Government carries out proposed £12 billion cuts to benefits.

Mr Neil spoke following the publication of the Welfare Reform Tracking Study, which showed that many people accessing benefits are living in constant fear of further cuts. The Social Justice Secretary said he is worried that Scotland’s most vulnerable people would be pushed further into poverty and desperation.

The Scottish Government commissioned Edinburgh Napier University to carry out the Welfare Reform Tracking Study with interviews with participants carried out between September 2013 and March 2015. The aim of the study is to explore the impact of on-going welfare changes on a range of households in Scotland over time.

The study, which looks at on-going changes to working age benefits, revealed all respondents, including those in work, found themselves in very difficult financial situations and therefore felt an underlying sense of ‘precariousness’. Many were anxious that changes to their circumstances or entitlements would push them into crisis situations.

Many participants also said they received poor and sometimes conflicting communications from benefits agencies and that there is often a lack of clarity over information provided, causing more stress and uncertainty.

Disabled participants also felt they had to present themselves in a negative light and focus on their limitations rather than their capabilities, while the challenges of work capability assessments and repeat assessments for people with permanent disabilities were also highlighted in the study.

Mr Neil said the findings of the study outlined exactly why the UK Government should urgently rethink their plans to further cut the welfare budget.

He said: “The UK Government’s austerity agenda and benefit cuts are having a very damaging effect on people in Scotland. Their approach is slashing the incomes of some of our poorest households and pushing 100,000 children into poverty.

“The Welfare Reform Tracking Study is further evidence that people are living in constant anxiety about changes to their entitlements and are already suffering from the effects of around £6 billion of cuts taken from Scottish Welfare expenditure over the last five years. This is hugely concerning as the UK Government should be looking to lift people out of poverty not push them further into it.

“Despite these frustrations we will do all we can to use our new powers to make our system fairer and simpler and work to improve the experience for people.

“We will work quickly to implement these changes and base our social security system on how best to support people and tackle inequalities and not on crude opportunities to save money.”

The report is available at: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/06/7394 and the appendices:http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2015/06/6817

Living Wage benefits employers too, research finds

Improved productivity and an enhanced company reputation have been highlighted as key benefits of organisations implementing the Living Wage according to an independent report.

The report – Wider Payment of the Living Wage in Scotland – highlights that increased productivity is also likely to outweigh the higher wage for many firms with increased pay creating a ‘feel good factor’ in the workplace.

Reduced absenteeism and reduced staff turnover have also been outlined as potential benefits by the report, which has been published ahead of tomorrow’s second meeting of the Fair Work Convention.

Cabinet Secretary for Fair Work, Skills and Training Roseanna Cunningham welcomed the report and said: “This is a fascinating report which, on the whole, offers a very positive outlook on the benefits of paying the Living Wage.

“As well as the more obvious benefits to individuals receiving higher pay, I hope the findings on improved rates of absenteeism and better productivity help convince employers, not already on board with the Living Wage, that it could be a very positive step for their business.

“A number of respondents also mentioned the reputational benefits of being a Living Wage employer, including reinforcing their positioning as ethical and socially responsible businesses.

“The Scottish Government is committed to fairness, supporting those on the lowest incomes, and we recognise the real difference the Living Wage can make to the people of Scotland. We have been working closely with the Poverty Alliance to encourage every employer to ensure all staff receive a fair level of pay. The Fair Work Convention, which meets for the second time tomorrow, is looking a number of ways to improved workplace relations and productivity, with fair pay seen as key to their work.

“Some of Scotland’s top employers already pay the Living Wage, with Aberdeenshire beer company Brewdog, fast-becoming one of our most recognisable brands becoming the 200^th accredited organisation last week.

“A KPMG report from last month showed that Scotland is most Living Wage-aware region in UK with 9 out of 10 Scots having heard of the Living Wage and a higher proportion of employees paid the Living Wage than the UK as a whole.

“But employers paying the living wage is only half the story here. The tax and benefits system needs to work smarter to make sure that people on low incomes see a greater share of any increases in pay – and we will press the UK Government to make sure this happens.”

The report ‘Wider Payment of the Living Wage in Scotland’ was carried out by Ipsos MORI and Loughborough University and can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Publications

Among the main points highlighted:

Existing research from other countries suggests that payment of the Living Wage can improve employee wellbeing, including higher satisfaction at the workplace. However, the effects on reducing poverty are less clear, as a large proportion of the employee’s pay increase is often lost in increased taxes and reduced means-tested benefits.

A considerable body of evidence shows no significant reduction in labour demand and employment levels due to increased wage floors.

Although increased productivity is likely to outweigh the higher wage cost for many firms, this does not mean that all firms will experience increased productivity, or that it will fully cover the cost for all those that do experience it. Some employers reduce labour costs in other ways (e.g. non-wage benefits), suffer reduced profits and/or pass the costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

To improve the implementation process, the Scottish Living Wage employers interviewed suggested employers should:

• conduct feasibility studies to identify and deal with potential risks

• communicate openly with staff about the rationale for adopting the Living Wage

• create a clear action plan for working with sub-contractors

The Scottish Living Wage employers interviewed suggested the Scottish Government could:

• provide advice and guidance on all aspects of the implementation phase

• encourage dialogue between Living Wage employers and those considering it

• raise awareness among recruitment agencies about the Living Wage

• provide more information and evidence on the benefits of the Living Wage

• provide financial incentives to help small businesses implement the Living Wage

• improve communications on, and engagement in, setting the level of the Living Wage

In the US, evidence on additional contracting costs due to enforcing a Living Wage among public contractors suggests at most very modest effects. In the UK – which, unlike the US, is unable to make payment of the living wage a mandatory requirement – a number of public bodies have nevertheless successfully included living wage considerations in procurement exercises. However, no satisfactory way of dealing with social care contracts has been found, due to very tight public budgets and a cost base dominated by low-paid labour.

Scottish Government contractors identified actions that could support the use of procurement to encourage implementation of the Living Wage, including:

• some form of subsidy to help offset increases in wage costs among contractors

• making use of local government and non-departmental government bodies to provide information and support

• workshops with contractors to provide information and advice on best practice

• providing robust evidence on the impacts, and advice on addressing barriers.

Holyrood comes to Craigmillar!

Jack Kane Centre to host Scottish Parliament Day

People living in Craigmillar are being asked how changes to the benefits system have affected them as the Scottish Parliament visits the regeneration area on the south east side of the city tomorrow (Monday 18 May).

Holyrood’s Parliament Day initiative, introduced by the Presiding Officer, Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP, aims to take the Parliament out into communities around Scotland, encouraging local people to take an interest in and engage directly with the Parliament and its work.

The Welfare Reform Committee, which was set up to examine the impact of changes to benefits and welfare introduced by the UK Government, will hold a ‘Your Say’ session from 2 – 4.30pm.

Members of the local communities, including those from Craigmillar, Niddrie and Portobello are invited to come along and get involved.

In the evening, local people are also invited to a relaxed, informal Q&A session at 5:30pm, hosted by the Presiding Officer, where they can quiz MSPs about how their Parliament works for them. MSPs Gavin Brown, Kezia Dugdale and Kenny MacAskill will also be in attendance.

The Presiding Officer said: “We know that the people of Scotland want to be involved in the political process and that is why the Parliament is going out across Scotland and right into our communities.

“I would like to encourage as many people as possible to join us at the Jack Kane Centre. Together with my fellow MSPs we are looking forward to hearing about what matters to local people.”

Committee Convener Michael McMahon MSP said: “The Welfare Reform Committee was set up to examine the welfare reform programme and its impact on Scotland. Our research has shown Portobello/ Craigmillar to be the worst hit area of Edinburgh in terms of the welfare changes.

“Our Committee has put personal experiences at the heart of our work and we want to sit down with local people who have been affected by or are worried about changes to the benefits system.”

Welfare Reform Committee: ‘Your Say’ Informal Meeting

Jack Kane Community Centre, 208 Niddrie Mains Road
From 2- 4:30pm
Free entry, free refreshments

Local residents are encouraged to come along and talk to MSPs and others in an informal, welcoming setting about the changes to benefits that matter to you.

Public Meeting with the Presiding Officer and local MSPs

Jack Kane Community Centre, 208 Niddrie Mains Road
5:30pm
Free entry, free refreshments
Q&A session with MSPs

For more information, visit www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentdays

Demonstrators set to ‘besiege’ Edinburgh Jobcentre

‘We are fighting back’ – Ethel MacDonald, ECAP

Demonstrators will descend on High Riggs Jobcentre today to declare their resistance to benefits sanctions and workfare.

The protest at the Jobcentre near Tollcross will continue over lunchtime and organisers Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty say: ‘We aim to send a strong message that cutting people’s benefits and forcing them to rely on foodbanks is not acceptable. Sanctions and workfare not only attack the claimants directly affected, they undermine all workers’ wages and conditions.’

Ethel MacDonald of ECAP said: “An increasing number of benefit claimants are being sanctioned under the DWP’s increasingly repressive measures and more than ever the Job Centre is aggressively pushing the Workfare programmes.

“Just consider the barbaric numbers: according to Corporate Watch, 139,000 sanctions were handed out to Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants in 2009 but this more than tripled to 508,000 in 2011, the coalition’s first full year in government. And the Child Poverty Action Group state that since 2010 sanctions have increased by 126%.”

Sanctions can be from a period of four weeks to up to 3 years.

ECAP support claimants to contest sanctions and resist being sent on workfare. Ethel MacDonald explained: “Claimants are not prepared to remain passive victims – we are fighting back. With the support of ECAP, Edinburgh Jobseeker Jimmy recently overturned a four week sanction imposed after the Oxgangs Neighbourhood Centre refused to take him on a Community Work Programme workfare placement. Workfare provider Learndirect falsely alleged to the DWP that Jimmy had been ‘very intimidating’ to the placement manager – in fact he had just politely informed him that it was disgraceful that a community resource was participating in such exploiting schemes.

“ECAP and Jimmy met the Scotland area manager of Learndirect, insisted that Learndirect withdraw the sanction referral, and also wrote to the DWP explaining that it was Jimmy’s democratic right to express his views on workfare to the placement boss. The DWP have now overturned the sanction and are repaying Jimmy his benefits.”

542 voluntary organisations have declared they will not take part in workfare and signed the Keep Volunteering Voluntary agreement.

The decreasing number of organisations still participating in the schemes are under pressure to pull out of programmes which lead to benefit cuts and sanctions. ECAP regularly blockade and occupy workfare users such as the Salvation Army and DEBRA, and workfare providers like Learndirect. And this week Brian Tannerhill denounced that the organisation he founded, McSence, were using workfare and called on the communities of Mayfield and Easthouses to tell the directors of the Midlothian social enterprise this was unacceptable.

The Edinburgh action is supported by Edinburgh Anti Cuts Alliance, Greater Leith Against the Cuts, Edinburgh Industrial Workers of the World and Edinburgh Anarchist Federation, and is part of a Britain-wide Week of Action in the run-up to the General Election. Co-ordinated via Boycott Workfare, demonstrations are taking place Britain-wide.

EU jobseekers barred from claiming Universal Credit

‘Universal Credit is a new benefit that will make work pay and help lift people out of poverty and it is already transforming lives’ – Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith

New EU migrants who have arrived in the UK will be prevented from claiming benefits until they have started work. The new regulations, introduced yesterday, mean that under Universal Credit no EU households will be able to access means-tested benefits in the UK without having worked here first.

Action has already been taken to halve the amount of time EU jobseekers can claim Jobseeker’s Allowance, Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit and means that if they don’t have a job after 3 months they will lose their right to reside in the UK. New migrant jobseekers are also now unable to claim Housing Benefit.

These tough new rules are part of the government’s long-term economic plan to protect the benefits system and ensure EU migrants come to this country for the right reasons and to contribute to the economy.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith (above) said:

“Universal Credit is a new benefit that will make work pay and help lift people out of poverty and it is already transforming lives.

“As part of the government’s long-term economic plan we have led the way with a series of measures to tackle abuses, tighten immigration routes, and toughen up the rules on access to UK benefits – and we have seen other European countries follow our lead and take similar action.

“Our new rules for Universal Credit will ensure we have a fair system where people cannot claim means tested benefits until they have worked.”

The department is abolishing 6 existing income-related benefits:

Jobseeker’s Allowance
Employment and Support Allowance
Housing Benefit
Income Support
Child Tax Credit
Working Tax Credits

The Westminster government has introduced a number of measures to make sure that the benefit and tax credit system for EU migrants is increasingly focused only on those who contribute through work:

all EU jobseekers need to live in the country for at least 3 months before they can claim income-based JSA, Child Benefit and Child Tax Credit
after 3 months, jobseekers have to take a stronger, more robust Habitual Residence Test if they want to claim income-based JSA
after 3 months on Jobseeker’s Allowance, they have a ‘genuine prospect of work’ test – if they do not have an imminent job offer they will lose their benefits and their right to reside in the UK as a jobseeker
new migrant jobseekers from the EU are no longer able to claim Housing Benefit
migrants from the EU who claim to have been in work or self-employed in order to gain access to a wider range of benefits now face a new robust test to decide whether they should be considered a worker or ex-worker with a minimum earnings threshold.

Parents and people with disabilities hardest hit by welfare reforms

‘This latest evidence shows that some of those most in need of support, namely parents and disabled people are being hardest hit. For us to be in this situation in 21^st century Scotland is unacceptable.’ – Michael McMahon MSP

Parents and people with disabilities are being hit hardest by the UK Government’s programme of welfare reform according to new research commissioned by the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee.

The report, published yesterday, represents the first time the impact of the UK Government’s welfare reform agenda on different household types in Scotland has been quantified.

The research for the Committee was conducted by Professors Christina Beatty and Steve Fothergill of the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University.

The new evidence shows that in Scotland, it is estimated that couples with dependent children will lose an average of more than £1,400 a year, and lone parents with dependent children stand to lose an average of around £1,800 a year from their income stream.

In all, families with children will lose an estimated £960m a year – approaching two-thirds of the overall financial loss in Scotland.

Disabled claimants and those with health problems have also been shown to be disproportionately affected. Reductions in incapacity benefits are estimated to average £2,000 a year, and some of the same people also face big losses in Disability Living Allowance and reductions in other benefits.

Committee Convener Michael McMahon MSP said: “The Welfare Reform Committee has amassed a growing volume of evidence documenting the impact of the welfare reform agenda on Scotland’s communities. This latest evidence shows that some of those most in need of support, namely parents and disabled people are being hardest hit. For us to be in this situation in 21^st century Scotland is unacceptable.”

The report also shows that almost half the reduction in benefits might be expected to fall on in-work households.

Deputy Convener, Clare Adamson MSP said: “The Scottish Government is to be commended for introducing measures to alleviate some of the worst effects of the welfare reform agenda. New powers over a range of benefits are due to be given to Holyrood in the coming years and this research will help direct those new powers to help those most in need of support.”

Until now, there has been no way to assess the impact across the various benefits on different types of households. Because of the cumulative impact of people being affected by several different benefit streams, the overall impact of welfare reforms has been hidden.

The statistics are expected to become an essential tool for government and local authorities in shaping targeted responses and service delivery.

The research follows two previous reports which measured the financial impact of welfare reform on Scotland as a whole and by local authority area, and the impact down to ward level.

The Committee expects to hear oral evidence on this report at its meeting on 10 March.

Professor Steve Fothergill, of the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “The figures demonstrate that the welfare reforms impact very unevenly. The very big impact on families with children, in particular, has previously been under the radar because it is the cumulative result of several individual reforms. Coalition ministers have argued that “we’re all in it together”. The impacts of welfare reform, documented in our report, show this is far from being the case.”

Universal Credit ‘makes work pay’

The national roll out of Universal Credit begins tomorrow

Jobcentres from the rural Highlands of Scotland, down through the Vale of York and into London are moving over to the new benefit on Monday 16 February, says the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). Edinburgh is among the first tranche to move over to UC.

Universal Credit eventually replaces six existing income-based benefits – Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance, Working and Child Tax Credits and Housing Benefit.

As part of the accelerated roll out announced by the Secretary of State, Iain Duncan Smith in September, over 150 Jobcentres will come on board in the next 2 months. It will then be available in all Jobcentres by this time next year.

And on the eve of this national roll out, new research shows that Universal Credit is getting people into work more quickly and so helping them to earn more.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith said: “This government’s welfare reforms have saved the taxpayer £50 billion and restored fairness to the system.

“The centrepiece of these reforms – Universal Credit – begins national roll out tomorrow. This landmark event is a key part of our long term economic plan, which guarantees you will always be better off in work than on benefits.

“The evidence today shows that under Universal Credit, people move into work more quickly and earn more money, giving them increased financial security. It is very impressive that we have seen these results so soon and that this is having a real impact on people’s lives. This is a cultural change which will alter the landscape of work for a generation.”

The government’s research shows that, over a 4 month period, claimants are:

13% more likely to have been in work than those on Jobseeker’s Allowance
earning more money

Similar to previous findings, the report also confirms that new Universal Credit claimants in the expanded sites are more likely than Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants to:

believe the benefit system is encouraging them to find work
take any job they are able to do
spend more time looking for work

Th DWP says that once fully rolled out, Universal Credit will boost the economy by £7 billion every year.

The Research

Read Universal Credit at Work – spring 2015

The research was carried out by tracking claimants from July 2013 to April 2014 in the areas of:

Warrington
Wigan
Oldham
Ashton-under-Lyne

These results based on income data from Real Time Information (RTI) were compared to a similar group of Jobseeker’s Allowance claimants.

Universal Credit Claims

More than 50,000 people have already made a claim to Universal Credit. It is available in 96 jobcentres including all of the north-west and is available to couples too. Claims from families and lone parents are also being taken in 32 sites.

Read the list of places where Universal Credit will be available between February and July 2015

uc-national-expansion

‘Shocking increase’ in food bank usage

New report shows growing demand for emergency food aid

More than 160 groups and organisations are now providing emergency food aid in Scotland. The figure is in a new report from the Poverty Alliance which states changes to the social security system and the introduction of sanctions, as well as low pay and insecure work are some of the main factors behind the growing need for emergency food.

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice Alex Neil launched the report at a food bank in his Airdrie constituency yesterday.

The Scottish Government has now provided the Poverty Alliance with £28,941 to carry out further work with emergency food providers. This will enable the Alliance to work with those providers to take forward research findings and to focus more strongly on the causes of food poverty and work towards ensuring people get the help needed to move them away from reliance on food aid provision.

Mr Neil said: “The Poverty Alliance report perfectly demonstrates the impact of UK welfare changes. It is unacceptable that so many have had to resort to foodbanks. Emergency food aid is not a sustainable response to the issue of food poverty and its underlying drivers and it cannot become an established feature of the welfare system in Scotland.”

“We have seen previously in figures from the The Trussell Trust, that there has been a shocking increase in food bank usage. This speaks volumes about the real poverty in our society when people can’t feed their families without help and support from food aid organisations.”

The Poverty Alliance report follows figures from The Trussell Trust which shows a rapid and dramatic rise in the number of people accessing emergency food aid in Scotland.

The Trussell Trust has reported a 12 fold increase in usage of emergency food aid in just three years – in 2011/12 5726 people in Scotland accessed food aid, while in 2013/14 that figure was 71,428.

The Poverty Alliance report concludes that more effort should be concentrated on how emergency food aid providers can better connect people with mainstream support services. Providers working in close partnership with other services have been shown to offer better support to those in need, connecting them to the advice and support required to address underlying issues which have led them to access emergency food aid in the first place.

Director of The Poverty Alliance Peter Kelly said: “We need to build on the good work that food aid providers are already doing. Volunteers are providing help to people experiencing real difficulties in often complex circumstances. There is a need to develop partnership working between emergency food aid providers to share ideas, experiences and good practice.

“In the longer term we need to ensure that we are developing policy solutions that address the root causes of food poverty. The support from the Scottish Government will help the Poverty Alliance ensure that those who are on the frontline tackling food poverty are able to contribute to finding these solutions.”

The Trussell Trust Scotland Network Manager Ewan Gurr added: “It has been a pleasure to work alongside and support the research carried out by our colleagues at the Poverty Alliance and we appreciate the consistency of the Scottish Government as they explore creative ways to tackle food poverty in Scotland.

“The voluntary sector, largely, has an openness to exploring fresh ways in which we can enhance the level of support people are offered. We welcome the report and believe it is important for us, as well as other food providers, to digest the findings. It has always been my ultimate desire that our foodbanks are places where dignity is restored, hope is revived and the support is comprehensive and robust.”

To help food aid providers develop a better understanding of the range of support available for users of emergency food aid and identify additional support, the Poverty Alliance has developed a web based resource to assist those delivering emergency food aid better link with mainstream services such as Citizen’s Advice Scotland as well as with other information and links to key support services at www.foodaidscotland.org

Civic Scotland urges halt to Universal Credit roll-out

An open letter to Iain Duncan Smith:

We – the undersigned – are writing with a united voice from across civic Scotland to call on the UK Government to immediately suspend the further implementation of Universal Credit in Scotland until the process of legislating for new powers for the Scottish Parliament is complete.

We know from the Smith Agreement that the bill for further powers that is currently being drafted, will include significant new welfare powers. The detail of how these powers will interact with the Universal Credit system will be complex and require careful consideration and planning. The legislation around welfare is complex and is regularly being adapted: since the enactment of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, there have already been over 40 Statutory Instruments passed by Westminster to bring into force many of its provisions.

Any system of welfare has to be safe and secure. Driving through Universal Credit in Scotland at this stage will create unnecessary administrative complication in an already complex process. The sensible way to roll out Universal Credit in Scotland is to do it once, when the Scotland-specific elements have been carefully planned and incorporated into it. This would avoid wasting precious time and scarce resources, and would protect vulnerable people from bureaucratic change that could wreak havoc.

A key recommendation of the Smith Commission was to significantly improve intergovernmental working between Westminster and Holyrood; this is a golden opportunity to do just that. So we ask you to act immediately to suspend the next phase of the roll-out of Universal Credit in Scotland, before it is scheduled to start in February.

Our diverse, united voices demonstrate that our call is not about politics. It is about protecting the most vulnerable people in our society and creating an effective, robust new system for delivering welfare. Our call is about responsible, effective governance.

Mary Taylor, Chief Executive, SFHA on behalf of my 56 co-signatories, listed below:

Age Scotland – Brian Sloan, CEO

Business for Scotland – Brandon Malone, Interim Chair

Church of Scotland – Rt Rev John Chalmers, Moderator of the General Assembly

Coalition of Care Support Providers in Scotland – Annie Gunner Logan, Director,

Common Weal – The Board

Constitutional Commission – John Drummond, Chairman

Council of Mortgage Lenders – Kennedy Foster, Policy Consultant, Scotland

Cyrenians – Ewan Aitken, CEO

Development Trusts Association – Ian Cooke, Director

East Lothian Tenants and Residents Panel – Mark Ormiston, Chair Person

Edinburgh Tenants Federation – Betty Stevenson, Convenor

Engender – Emma Ritch, Executive Director

Food Train – Michelle McCrindle, CEO

Glasgow & West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations – David Bookbinder, Director

Health & Social Care Alliance Scotland – Ian Welsh, CEO

Inclusion Scotland – Bill Scott, Director of Policy

Money Advice Scotland – Yvonne MacDermid OBE, CEO

Quarriers – Alice Drife, CEO

Scottish Association of Social Work – Trisha Hall, Country Manager

Scottish Children’s Services Coalition – Sophie Pilgrim, Member

Scottish Community Alliance – Angus Hardie, Director

Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations – Martin Sime, CEO

Scottish Out of School Care Network – Irene Audain MBE, CEO

Scottish Trade Unions Council – David Moxham, Deputy General Secretary

Scottish Women’s Aid – Lily Greenan, CEO

Sense Scotland – Andy Kerr, CEO

Social Enterprise Scotland – Fraser Kelly, CEO

Social Firms Scotland – Pauline Graham, CEO

St Martins Parish Pastoral Council, Tranent – Fr James Smith. Parish Priest

The Equality Network – Tim Hopkins, Director

The Jimmy Reid Foundation – Bob Thomson, Convener

The Poverty Alliance Peter Kelly, Director

The Wise Group – Laurie Russell, CEO

The Trussell Trust – David McAuley, CEO

Turning Point Scotland – Martin Cawley, CEO

Who Cares? Scotland – Duncan Dunlop, CEO

Voluntary Action Scotland – Calum Irving, CEO

Voluntary Health Scotland – Claire Stevens, CEO

YouthLink Scotland – Jim Sweeney, CEO

Zero Tolerance – Laura Tomson, Co-director

Signatories from Housing Assoc. due to be part of the next stage of Universal Credit roll-out:

ARK Housing Association – Jane Gray, CEO

Barony Housing Association – Rebecca Wilson, CEO

Bield Housing & Care – Brian Logan, CEO

Blackwood – Fanchea Kelly, CEO

Cairn Housing Association – Jason MacGilp, CEO

Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association – Alister Steele, Managing Director

Dunedin Canmore Group – Ewan Fraser, CEO

Hanover (Scotland) Housing Association – Helen Murdoch, CEO

Knowes Housing Association – Pierre De Fence, Director

Lister Housing Co-operative – Alistair Cant, Director

Manor Estates Housing Association – Lynn McDonald, Director

Melville Housing Association – Andrew Noble, CEO

Prospect Community Housing – Brendan Fowler, Director

Trafalgar Housing Association – Paul McShane, Director

Trust Housing Association – Bob McDougall, CEO

West Granton Housing Co-operative – Gerry Gillies, CEO

Government hails drop in benefit dispute waiting times

New figures show the average waiting time for disputes against benefit decisions have dropped substantially.

New figures show the average waiting time for disputes against benefit decisions have dropped substantially, from over 6 months to under a fortnight on average, thanks to a new and quicker system introduced by the Westminster government.

Ministers last year fundamentally reformed the way the Department for Work and Pensions manages benefit disputes – introducing a system called mandatory reconsideration, where officials look again at decisions and any additional evidence before it goes to an appeal tribunal.

It has radically speeded up the appeals process – removing the need for many people to rely on tribunals which take on average over 6 months to reach decisions – and can sometimes take as long as a year.

Streamlining of the disputes process is part of the government’s long-term plan to reform welfare and ensure benefit support is better targeted at those who need it most. The government currently spends around £94 billion a year on working-age benefits.

Work and Pensions Minister Mark Harper (pictured above) said: “Cutting the time people are waiting to resolve benefit disputes from over 6 months to an average of just 2 weeks is good news for claimants and the taxpayer.

“Fewer appeals going to tribunal avoids protracted and costly procedures for the taxpayer and the claimant. Our reconsideration system now makes sure people who are entitled to benefits get them sooner.

“As part of the government’s long-term economic plan, we are committed to helping as many people into work as possible, rather than just writing them off on out-of-work benefits as happened in the past. We also want to make sure we help and support those too sick to work, which we are doing.”

Claimants now have the chance to challenge a decision if they feel it is incorrect and provide additional evidence at the earliest possible opportunity.

The latest statistics show that the proportion of people appealing to a tribunal against ESA decisions have dropped sharply by 86% between July and September 2014 – compared to the same period last year.

98% of all mandatory reconsideration requests made between the end of October 2013 and the end of October 2014 have been re-examined and cleared.