Local Authority Funding Deal: "A Pay Rise not a Tax Rise"

Wage Rise for Care Workers and Continued Freeze on Council Tax
The SNP has today welcomed the decision of Scotland’s 32 local authorities to agree a funding deal that will deliver a wage rise for social care workers, the protection of the pupil-teacher ratio, action on education attainment and the continuation of the council tax freeze.

Commenting, SNP MSP Kevin Stewart said:

“This agreement will ensure that despite unprecedented pressure placed on the Scottish budget by Tory austerity cuts, the public’s priorities will continue to be delivered at a national and local level.

“The local government settlement will deliver a Living Wage for social care workers and will make additional funding available to support the biggest reform in our health service since 1948 by integrating health and social care.

“Additional funding will also be provided to local authorities to improve educational attainment and to maintain the pupil-teacher ratio in our schools – ensuring that every child can reach their full potential.

“And with council tax bills frozen for a ninth consecutive year, meaning a total saving of more than £1,500 for the average band D household, this is a settlement that delivers a pay rise for people on low wages – not a tax rise.”

Budget 2015: Expert Analysis Warns of Big Losses for Low Income Families

The SNP is highlighting expert analysis warning that the Tory budget unveiled in Parliament today will hurt low income families.

Think-tank the Resolution Foundation published analysis stating that “severe welfare cuts” will mean “big losses for many low-income families” – with a single parent with one child working 20 hours a week at £9.35 an hour £1,000 a year worse off.

On the proposals for a National Living Wage, the think-tank estimates that the current Living Wage would be need to rise to £10 by 2020 – more than the £9 announced by George Osborne.

It also points out that Tax Credits, the minimum wage and the living wage currently complement each other and the Living Wage and Minimum Wage would need to rise further to compensate for the cuts announced today.

Resolution Foundation chief executive Gavin Kelly said it will take “many struggling families years before they earn their way back to their current position”.

Commenting on the report, Kevin Stewart, who sits on the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee, said:

“This expert analysis raises huge concern, warning many families face ‘big losses’ due to ‘severe welfare cuts’ – with a single parent with one child facing loses of up to £1,000 a year.

“After five years of hammering the lowest income families, George Osborne has today made clear that he intends to plough on with more deeply unfair cuts.

“The plans to introduce a National Living Wage are a con-trick that will actually result in slower growth in wages – indeed Mr Osborne has failed to promise to meet the current Living Wage of £7.85 in the first instance, and under 25s will receive no increase at all despite the fact they face the brunt of other cuts.

“And while he says that the National Living Wage will be £9 by 2020, this analysis from the Resolution Foundation finds it will need to be at least £10.

“The Tories make no attempt to hide the fact they can’t be trusted on welfare. It’s time to strengthen the Scotland Bill to ensure that the powers to support and empower the least well off and most vulnerable people in society are in Scotland’s hands where they belong.”

The report is here:

http://www.resolutionfoundation.org/

Bedroom Tax Policy Too Extreme Even For Tory Backbenchers

FRESH CRITICISM FOR UNFAIR DWP POLICIES
The SNP is today renewing its call for the abolition of the Bedroom Tax – after it emerged that even Tory MPs are calling for the policy to be revisited.

Speaking on the BBC’s World at One programme earlier this week, Tory MP Nigel Mills called for the DWP to reconsider the Bedroom Tax – which comes after the tabling of a debate at Westminster Hall by Tory MPs calling for the measure to be scrapped.

The SNP in government has fully mitigated the impact of the Bedroom Tax on people in Scotland – but is demanding that the UK Government abolishes the unfair tax once and for all to ensure the Scottish Government is not forced to spend resources on a policy people in Scotland reject.

Commenting, SNP MSP Kevin Stewart said:

“The Bedroom Tax is a pernicious, unfair policy which targets some of the most vulnerable people in our society – and that now even Tory MPs accept that shows just how harmful this policy is.

“For years, we’ve seen David Cameron being led by the nose by Tory backbenchers, forcing him into dangerous policies like the EU referendum. But we are now in the position where this UK Government’s policies are so extreme and unfair that even Tory backbenchers are finding them unpalatable.

“It’s now time for Iain Duncan Smith to finally do the decent thing and scrap this unfair, indefensible policy for good - meaning we’d no longer be faced with the ludicrous position of the Scottish Parliament being forced to spend scarce resources mitigating against an unfair policy which targets vulnerable people and which Scotland completely rejects."

Coastguard Staffing Levels Failure Highlights Need for Devolving Control of Services

The SNP has today [Monday] slammed the “abject failure” of the UK Government and highlighted the need for coastguard services to be devolved following the publication of statistics showing critical levels of understaffing at coastguard stations across Scotland

Aberdeen is the worst affected coastguard station across the countries of the UK with 97 per cent of shifts in September being staffed at a level where the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre’s failed to meet the agreed minimum risk assessed level of staff, as revealed by a FOI obtained by the Coastguard SOS campaign from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.

The SNP has now said that its call to devolve Coastguard services to Scotland is vital. This call has expert support from UK wide pressure group Coastguard SOS’s with National Coordinator Dennis O’Connor who said powers over the Coastguard must to be passed to Scotland, rather than be left with the “dangerously incompetent” UK Government.

Mr O’Connor added:

“…we now have a situation which is, without question endangering the lives of those who use the coast for recreational or commercial purposes”.

Kevin Stewart, SNP MSP for Aberdeen Central said:

“These latest figures make worrying reading, and demonstrate the abject failure of Westminster’s duty to provide adequate staffing levels to keep the people in our seas safe.

“Scotland’s coastguard services are poorly served by Westminster, and it is no wonder that experts from the SOS Coastguard campaign recognise the need for responsibility in this area to be held by the Scottish Government.

“It is vital that the Scottish Parliament is given the powers Scotland needs to make sure we can properly protect our coasts, rather than putting lives at risk for the sake of a saving a few pounds.”

Treasury Spending Review Cash-Grab Targetting 100,000 Pensioners in Scotland

A move to constant income assessments for those receiving Pension Credit announced in this week’s spending review has been described as a ‘blatant cash-grab’ targeting around 100,000 older people in Scotland.

Under the current system, many older people receiving Pension Credit are awarded a fixed amount for five year periods with reassessments occurring only if there has been a major change in circumstances. However, changes to Pension Credit announced by the Westminster Government this week will see older people forced to complete paperwork reporting their income on a constant basis in order to receive the payment.

Five year assessment periods had been introduced to reduce the complexity and intrusion in the means-tested welfare system for pensioners and encourage those who are eligible to apply for the payments they are entitled to. By moving to continuous assessments, the likelihood is that fewer pensioners will take up the welfare payments which they are eligible for.

This move away from five year assessments was described by Craig Berry of the TUC as “a bizarre decision (explicable only in the sense that it saves the Exchequer some cash)". The Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (SPICe) estimate that around 100,000 older people in Scotland may be affected by the move which will impact on one million pensioners across the UK.

Commenting, SNP MSP Kevin Stewart who sits on the Welfare Reform Committee said:

“This is a blatant cash-grab by the Westminster Treasury who want to save money by simply making it harder for older people to claim the support to which they are fully entitled.

“The move will remove the certainty about how much money they have coming in that older people rely on. It will increase the stress and hassle that older people face by requiring constant income assessments to access Pension Credit.

“It is utterly cynical and entirely symptomatic of a Westminster system that cares nothing for the people it is supposed to represent.

“These are the kind of actions that demonstrate beyond any doubt why Scotland needs the opportunity to set our own course when it comes to the welfare state.

“The chance to build a fairer society that does not treat our older people in this shocking way is one of the major gains that a Yes vote in next year’s referendum offers us."

Further details of the planned move can be viewed at http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN06677

IDS Accused of Running Scared of Public Scrutiny on Bedroom Tax

Iain Duncan Smith has been accused of running scared of public scrutiny ahead of his visit to Scotland in which he will again fail to give public evidence to the Welfare Reform Committee.

The Westminster Work and Pensions Secretary will appear at a conference today (Wednesday) charging £545 per head for delegates to attend and after repeated refusals has at last agreed to a meeting with the Welfare Reform Committee – but only behind closed doors.

This refusal to appear in public follows a similar stance by Lord Freud – the reported architect of Westminster’s Bedroom Tax – who also refused to publicly defend the policy when visiting Scotland.

Commenting, SNP MSP Kevin Stewart who sits on the Welfare Reform Committee said:

“Iain Duncan Smith has had to be dragged kicking and screaming to attend a closed door meeting, and is still refusing to answer questions about the iniquitous Bedroom Tax in public.

“The only conclusion that people in Scotland can possibly draw is that he is running scared of public scrutiny because he cannot defend this indefensible policy - which is utterly irrelevant to Scottish circumstances.

“There are over 100,000 households across Scotland set to be hit by the Bedroom Tax next week, all of whom are facing a real financial burden.

“The people facing the prospect of this attack cannot afford to stump up fees of £545 to hear Iain Duncan Smith justify what he is doing, so why is he refusing to appear in public so that people can hear what he has to say?

“The fact of the matter is that this is a deeply unfair policy that people across Scotland find utterly abhorrent - which is why a clear majority of people in Scotland support Holyrood having responsibility for welfare and pensions policy, not the Westminster system.

“The SNP are committed to abolishing the Bedroom Tax in an independent Scotland, and it is a clear demonstration of why we need the Scottish Parliament to have the full powers over welfare that only a Yes vote in September 2014 can secure.”

Polling Shows Scots Have Least Faith in Westminster Welfare System

Analysis of the polling underpinning a new report on welfare has shown that people in Scotland are the least likely to have faith in the abilities of the current Westminster welfare system to protect them in difficult times.

The report from the Policy Network and Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) examines people’s attitudes towards welfare in the UK, France and Denmark and compares attitudes to reform.

A breakdown of the polling data shows that people in Scotland were significantly less likely to believe the welfare system offers sufficient protection for people who face the prospect of becoming unemployed, being evicted, getting sick or retiring from work.

The report also makes clear that “spending cuts in the UK, for instance, have disproportionately affected the young and the poor – precisely those groups that vote with least frequency, while universal benefits for the elderly have been protected."

The Scottish Government recently established an expert group charged with advising on how a fairer welfare system can reflect and uphold the values of people in an independent Scotland.

Commenting, SNP MSP Kevin Stewart – who sits on the Welfare Reform Committee - said:

“This poll makes crystal clear that people in Scotland simply do not have faith in the current Westminster operated welfare system.

“People in Scotland are significantly less likely than those in the rest of the UK to believe that the current welfare system provides adequate protection when people need it most.

“As this report highlights, Westminster’s spending cuts have disproportionately affected the young and the poor, despite the Scottish Government’s best efforts to mitigate the worst of the damage with the powers we currently have.

“Why does the Westminster Government wrongly persist in believing that these are the groups who should bear the brunt of their austerity agenda? It is scarcely any wonder that this polling shows people in Scotland simply do not have faith in Westminster’s system.

“Instead of people in Scotland being forced to rely upon a Westminster welfare system that is being aggressively cut back and failing thousands people who need support, we need a system that truly reflect Scotland’s values.

“With the powers of an independent Scotland we can build that kind of system and ensure that the priorities of people in Scotland are truly reflected in our welfare system.

“It is only a Yes vote in next year’s referendum that will secure that opportunity for Scotland and restore people’s faith that they will receive the support they need from the rest of society when they are facing difficult times."

A copy of the recently published Policy Network/IPPR report can be viewed at http://www.ippr.org/

The YouGov poll of 1,751 people across the UK commissioned for the Policy Network/IPPR report asked the following questions and can be viewed at http://d25d2506sfb94s.cloudfront.net/:

For which, if any, of the following situations or events
do you think the current welfare system
does or does not offer people sufficient protection?

ATTITUDES TO WESTMINSTER RESPONSIBILITIES	in the UK	London	Rest of South	Midlands/ Wales	North	in Scotland
Becoming unemployed:
Does offer sufficient protection	49	54	54	49	43	42
Does not offer sufficient protection	51	46	46	51	57	58
Having a house repossessed or being evicted from the house:
Does offer sufficient protection	37	35	40	42	34	31
Does not offer sufficient protection	63	65	60	58	66	69
Getting sick or becoming disabled:
Does offer sufficient protection	46	49	49	47	44	35
Does not offer sufficient protection	54	51	51	53	56	65
Retiring from work:
Does offer sufficient protection	42	41	49	43	35	34
Does not offer sufficient protection	58	59	51	57	65	66

Tories Want to Cut Benefits for People in 'The North'

WELFARE HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED FOR DECISIONS TO BE MADE IN SCOTLAND

Proposals initiated by George Osborne to cut the benefits for people in ‘The North’ and other parts of the UK including where the cost of living is less expensive than London has been criticised by the SNP.

Reports in today’s papers indicate that a range of new measures requested by the Chancellor George Osborne — including paying lower benefits in ‘the North’ - have been put forward in a paper by members of the 2020 Group, a panel of 70 Conservative MPs including Cabinet ministers, such as Michael Gove and Justine Greening.

Kevin Stewart MSP, a member of the Scottish Parliament Welfare Reform Committee, said the UK Chancellor’s plan stood in stark contrast to the announcement today by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon for an Expert Working Group on Welfare to look at benefit payments in Scotland, consider changes to the current system in an independent Scotland, and make initial recommendations for how a welfare system can reflect Scottish values.

Mr Stewart said:

“This is a typically cynical proposal by George Osborne - effectively punishing people who live in 'the North' for the impact of the Westminster government's own austerity policies, which have created a stagnating UK economy and destroyed jobs.

“The UK is already the fourth most unequal country in the developed world. To increase geographical inequalities by cutting welfare payments in 'the North' would only make the poor poorer and increase poverty in Scotland.

“The Westminster government’s failure to understand the needs and wants of the people of Scotland demonstrates how vital it is that decisions on welfare that affect the people of Scotland must be taken here in Scotland, in an independent Parliament.

“We need a welfare system in Scotland that reflects Scottish values and ensures fair and decent support for those that need it most by protecting the vulnerable in our society. Westminster's harsh welfare cuts stand in stark contrast to the Expert Working Group announced by Nicola Sturgeon that will look at benefit payments in Scotland, consider changes to the current system in an independent Scotland, and make initial recommendations for how a welfare system can reflect Scottish values.

“Only a Yes vote in 2014 can secure a fair and progressive welfare system for Scotland."

Notes

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/