UK Bypasses Scots Law as Scottish Jobseekers to Face English or Welsh Courts

The SNP has condemned the Department for Work and Pensions for its policy that Scottish jobseekers who face any legal action in relation to their use of the Universal Jobsmatch website would face an English or Welsh court – totally bypassing the Scottish court system.

SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn raised the issue with the DWP in July 2013 but has still not yet received clarification regarding the situation.

Mr Hepburn has also written to Lord Wallace, Advocate General for Scotland and the UK government’s Scottish law advisor.

Commenting, Mr Hepburn, said:

“The implications this has for the people of Scotland are extremely concerning. This policy infers that Scottish jobseekers who face any legal action in relation to their use of the website would face an English or Welsh court – totally snubbing the Scottish court system.

“This would pose major complexities and difficulties, not to mention how to ensure an individual receiving job seekers allowance has the ability to travel to an English or Welsh court.

“Although welfare is at present a reserved issue that is no reason to justify completely bypassing the jurisdiction of Scottish courts and the governance of Scottish Law.

“The DWP must clarify this situation – having written to them six months ago raising my concerns they have had more than enough time to respond.

“This highlights why we need a Yes vote – it is a completely ridiculous situation for a Scottish jobseeker using the website in Scotland to then have to face a court hundreds of miles away.

“To completely snub the Scottish law system beggars belief – a Yes vote would ensure Scotland no longer has to endure decisions made by this unfair and skewed Westminster system."

Cost of Christmas Dinner Rising, but Council Tax Freeze Helps Cover the Increase

As families plan Christmas meals with loved ones, the savings made from the SNP’s council tax freeze has been contrasted with the pressure on household budgets caused by significant rises in the cost of food.

Extensive rises in the cost of living over recent years mean that the price of staple household foods has risen sharply in recent years. According to RPI inflation figures, the cost of potatoes rose by 81.82% between May 2007 and October 2013, the price of carrots rose 26.03%, cauliflower increased by 21.05%, pork sausages rose by 35.64% and the cost of an oven ready roasting chicken rose by 37.9%.

The same figures show that the price of beef mince increased over the same period by 69.50%, topside beef rose by 46.48%, pork loin increased by 33.40% and bacon increased by 22.39%.

Meanwhile, a YouGov survey has found that families expect to spend an average of £180 on food and drink this Christmas

In contrast, council tax bills have not risen by a single penny anywhere in Scotland since the SNP took office and will remain frozen for the lifetime of this parliament. This freeze in bills will have saved the average household around £1,200 by the end of this parliamentary term, providing a vital boost to family budgets as the cost of living rises.

Commenting, SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn said:

“Christmas is a time when we get together with families and loved ones, but the rising cost of a traditional Christmas dinner is putting real pressure on household budgets.

“With food prices having risen significantly in recent years, it is inevitable that many people will be feeling the pinch this Christmas. That is why measures like the council tax freeze have been so important to so many households struggling to make ends meet.

“Thanks to the SNP’s council tax freeze, households in Scotland will have saved an average of £1,200 by the end of this parliament.

“That is a hugely important saving and has been of enormous relief to people across the length and breadth of Scotland.

“While other bills may be inexorably rising, people are able to rely on not receiving any nasty shocks in their council tax bills thanks to the SNP."

Labour vote to stop cash for Bedroom Tax victims

The revelation that Labour MSPs voted to oppose providing additional funds for victims of Westminster’s Bedroom Tax has been branded as ‘shameless hypocrisy’ today.

The results of a vote in private taken by the Economy, Energy and Tourism Committee during its budget scrutiny was today published by the Scottish Parliament, revealing that Labour members of the committee voted against transferring funds to help combat the Bedroom Tax.

Labour’s decision to oppose helping people affected by the Bedroom Tax comes after a recent House of Commons vote which could have seen the policy scrapped altogether was lost by just 26 votes, with 47 Labour MPs, including 10 representing Scottish constituencies failing to attend.

Despite opposition from Labour’s Margaret McDougall and Hanzala Malik, the committee gave its backing to the Scottish Government’s decision to transfer funds towards boosting Discretionary Housing payments by £20 million in order to help victims of the Bedroom Tax – the maximum legal support that can be given.

Commenting, SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn who sits on the Welfare Reform Committee said:

“Simply put this is Labour trying to stop cash going to those affected by the Bedroom Tax.

“Labour have once again shown their shameless hypocrisy when it comes to helping people affected by the Bedroom Tax.

“Their inability to put aside political posturing and help victims of the Bedroom Tax is an utter disgrace. Coming so soon after their MPs failed to show up in a close vote to scrap the policy altogether, it shows that Labour simply does not regard helping people affected by the Bedroom Tax as a priority.

“Labour seems to regard this issue as a convenient political football when the fact is that it is having a devastating effect on tens of thousands of households across Scotland.

“The Bedroom Tax is a disgraceful policy that has no place in Scotland and the SNP has given a firm commitment to scrap it in the first year of an independent Scotland.

“A Yes vote next year is a vote to rid Scotland of the Bedroom Tax once and for all and ensure that such disastrous measures can never again be imposed on Scotland by Westminster politicians.”

UK Government has no Robust Assessment of Cumulative Impact of Welfare Changes

  WESTMINSTER MUST TEAR DOWN WALL OF SILENCE ON WELFARE REFORMS
The SNP have called on the Westminster Government to tear down its wall of silence on the impact of welfare reforms in Scotland after it emerged that the UK Government is consistently failing to provide information on the effect of its policies.

In a Parliamentary Answer to Jamie Hepburn MSP this week, it was revealed that despite requests from the Scottish Government, the UK Government has failed to produce any robust assessment of the cumulative impact of the welfare reforms it has introduced. This has left the Scottish Government in the position of having to develop its own picture of the cumulative impact of welfare reforms as the Westminster Government has proved unwilling to conduct its own analysis.

It was further revealed that the Scottish Government is not the only body to be denied information on the impact of welfare reforms, as answers to Parliamentary Questions at Westminster, responses to MSP correspondence and FOI requests have all been met with a refusal by UK Government departments to answer questions related to benefit changes and how they will affect the people of Scotland.

MSPs who attempt to write to the DWP on behalf of their constituents who are suffering as a result of Westminster’s unforgiving reforms are now being refused any information on the grounds that the issue related to their constituents’ matters is not devolved.

Meanwhile two Parliamentary Questions from Eilidh Whiteford MP to the Scotland Office asking them to disclose the number of meetings the department’s ministers have had with the Department of Work and Pensions to discuss the impact of the welfare reforms since they were introduced, were brushed off without a meaningful answer. An FOI request seeking similar information was also met with refusal after months of delay.

Mr Hepburn, who is the Deputy Convenor of the Welfare Reform Committee, said:

“Not only has the UK Government hammered disabled people, the young, pensioners and hard-working families, but it seems they haven’t even been responsible enough to assess the full impact of their unjust welfare reforms.

“Not to have undertaken any kind of robust assessment of the impact their changes are having is simply beyond belief and speaks volumes about how little the Westminster Government seems to care about the effect its actions are having.

“As if that wasn’t bad enough, they now appear to be trying to duck questions, whether they are from MPs, MSPs or members of the public. The wall of silence that the Westminster Government appears to be building is simply unacceptable. They cannot just duck their responsibilities because the questions are tough.

“The SNP Government has stepped in to protect people in Scotland by mitigating some of the worst of these reforms where we have been able to do so, but they are still having a devastating impact on many people.

“An independent Scotland would be able to set its own course when it comes to welfare and create a system that reflects the priorities and values of people in Scotland rather than those of a Tory Government determined to wield the axe on the most vulnerable.

“Only a Yes vote in next year’s referendum will give us the opportunity to do that and ensure that no more damage is done by Westminster’s mismanagement of the welfare system."

Westminster's Day of Shame as 'Catastrophic' Welfare Changes Set to Bite

The SNP has highlighted the UK government’s failures in protecting the most vulnerable on the day that Westminster’s ‘catastrophic’ welfare changes are implemented.

Today (Monday) the changes to the welfare system will see:

• The ‘Bedroom Tax’ come into force, with 105,000 households across Scotland losing an average £600 a year.
• Working age benefits rises will be capped to one per cent for the next three years reducing the total income of Scottish households by around £210 million by 2014-15.
• Child benefit will be frozen for the third year in a row, seeing, cumulatively, between 2011-12 and 2015-16, a family with two children receiving over £1,100 less than they would had Child Benefit been uprated by RPI inflation.
• Scotland’s council tax budget will be cut by 10% but Scottish households have been protected by the Scottish Government and COSLA plugging the £40 million funding gap.
• The social fund will be abolished but the £33million Scottish Welfare Fund will be set up to benefit an extra 100,000 vulnerable Scots.

Westminster’s welfare reform programme – encompassing the cuts in the UK Budget, autumn statement and spending review – comes to a total of £4.5billion.

SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn, deputy convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee, said:

“It doesn’t matter what bracket you fall into – young, poor, disadvantaged, elderly – Westminster is hurting the life chances of people who depend on the support of the welfare state with its catastrophic changes to benefits.

“The Westminster system is wrongly persistent in believing that these are the groups who should bear the brunt of their austerity agenda.

“From introducing the ‘bedroom tax’ to freezing child benefit, it is little wonder that people in Scotland simply do not have faith in the current Westminster operated welfare system.

“We need a system that reflects Scotland’s values – a system that ensures fair and decent support for those that need it most, protecting the vulnerable and supporting households rather than seeing them be subjected to aggressive cuts from Westminster.

“A fairer welfare system for Scotland can only be achieved with independence and control over all welfare policies so that we can devise policies for the benefit of the people of Scotland.

“A recent YouGov poll found that 52% of respondents thought that the Scottish Government should be responsible for all tax and spending decisions in Scotland – including oil and gas tax revenue, with 35% supporting Westminster control.

"Scotland needs a Yes vote on 18th September 2014 to enable us to invest our abundant resources in building the fairer and more prosperous Scotland that we all want to see."

Notes:

Yougov (Fieldwork: 20th-22nd March 2013)
Sample size: 1105 Scottish adults

Which government do you think should be responsible for all tax and spending decisions in Scotland, including tax revenues from oil and gas?

The UK government 35%
The Scottish government 52%
Don't know 13%

Which government do you think would be best at deciding welfare and pensions policy for Scotland?

The UK government 34%
The Scottish government 53%
Don't know 13%

Humiliating Factual Inaccuracy Holes "NO" Campaign Credibility

The Anti-independence campaign faced humiliation today as it emerged a briefing for activists on Scotland’s finances released by the campaign contained a major factual inaccuracy.

In attempting to discredit the fact that an independent Scotland would have had a smaller deficit than Scotland’s population share of the UK’s deficit in 2010/11, the No campaign claimed that “This calculation assumes that the Barnett formula – used to calculate Scotland’s budget – would still be in place if Scotland voted to break away from the rest of the United Kingdom. It would not. The Barnett formula would end with independence."

However, this assertion is completely false as the public sector revenue calculations contained in the GERS figures are based on taxes and other Government incomes generated in Scotland and have absolutely nothing to do with the Barnett formula.

Based on those revenues, and with borrowing at the same rate as the UK – Scotland would have had a relative surplus of £2.7bn in 2010/11, the equivalent of £500 per head.

This lack of understanding of Scotland’s finances is a major embarrassment for the anti-independence campaign given the position of former Chancellor Alistair Darling at the head of the campaign.

Commenting, SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn who sits on the Finance Committee said:

“This is either complete financial illiteracy from the anti-independence campaign, or a deliberate attempt to create an utterly misleading picture of Scotland’s finances.

“It speaks volumes about the No campaign’s lack of credibility that they appear not to even understand the basics of what the GERS figures are.

“Scotland produces a larger percentage of UK revenues than is spent in Scotland and significantly more than our population share. Those figures have absolutely nothing to do with the Barnett Formula, so why is the anti-independence campaign instructing their activists to claim that it is?

“Given the state in which he left the UK’s economy as Chancellor, perhaps we should not be surprised that a campaign headed by Alistair Darling has such little understanding of public finances.

“Misleading people in Scotland with such factually incorrect information is no way to fight a campaign and will inevitably only backfire on the anti-independence campaign."

Notes: The anti-independence campaign’s inaccurate briefing can be viewed at http://b.3cdn.net/5b8b82ad2fa5b7fe48_1zm6i22gg.pdf

UK Government Attack On Households Continues

COUNCIL TAX BENEFIT CUTS COULD HIT HALF A MILLION SCOTS
Following the granny tax – the SNP have exposed the impact UK plans to replace Council Tax Benefit and cut the budget for supporting council tax payers by 10% could have in Scotland. The Coalition is determined to keep hammering household budgets of those who can least afford it.

556,000 people on fixed and low incomes receive council tax benefit including 213,000 pensioners.

The UK is abolishing council tax benefit and in transferring funding to Scotland is slashing the budget by 10% creating a £40m hole.

SNP MSP Jamie Hepburn slammed the UK’s continued attack on pensioners and less well-off families struggling to recover from the recession.

Mr Hepburn, Deputy Convener of the Welfare Reform Committee, said:

“First they slash welfare for people on disabilities, hit households with cuts to tax credits and then change the tax arrangements for pensioners with the granny tax – now we know that over 200,000 pensioners face being hit by UK cuts to council tax benefit.

“This could see pensioner couples lose nearly £100 in benefit. Pensioners appear to be paying the price of UK Coalition cuts.

“It is typical of this government to think nothing of people on fixed incomes struggling to pay bills and more of their millionaire friends.

“And they are trying to take more money from those who are unemployed or single parents at a time when the job market is struggling to recover. Where are people supposed to make the extra money to pay the UK Government when it’s economic policies are leaving people without jobs.

“I welcome the decision to finally transfer council tax benefit to Scotland but to slash the budget on the way is utterly unacceptable.

At the same time as UK changes to housing benefit are having a real impact on low income families this is a step too far.

“The Scottish Government said in the budget that it had held back money to help those affected by the impact of UK Government cuts and I know they are looking at how to support those hit by the UK’s council tax cut.

“We support our pensioners and low earners, that’s why the SNP has frozen the council tax freeze for the last 5 years and will do so right up to 2016."