Meeting of the Parliament 07 February 2024
One of the very different aspects of the system that I have just discussed is the fact that Social Security Scotland will gather the supporting information. Previously, under the DWP, individuals were forced to do that themselves, which they found humiliating and difficult. It takes some time for Social Security Scotland to gather that supporting information for the client, but we reassure anybody who is eligible that their payment will be backdated to the point of application.
As I said, we have also listened to families and friends who are providing essential unpaid care for disabled people. That is one of the reasons why the carers allowance supplement was introduced—our very first act when we took over social security powers—why we have invested £3.3 million in our young carers grant since 2019, and why we are also delivering extended entitlement for full-time students to the carer support payment.
We have to contrast that approach with the approach from the UK Government. We have progressive policies here in Scotland, but that is happening amid a worsening fog of Westminster austerity. We have a contract with the people of Scotland, but that contract does not exist when it comes to reserved benefits. We could do so much more if we were not held back by, for example, the fact that universal credit is failing to support the people that it should be there for—it does not provide for essentials.
The two-child limit alone is affecting 80,000 children in Scotland, and no victim of sexual violence should ever have to disclose that fact to access welfare payments but, under Westminster, that is the society that we are living in. The Child Poverty Action Group estimates that scrapping the cruel two-child limit and the abhorrent rape clause could lift 250,000 children out of poverty, including 15,000 children in Scotland.
Sir Keir Starmer says that he wants to implement the rape clause “more fairly”. I struggle to comprehend what he means by that. His Labour colleagues in this chamber should also struggle to comprehend that and then do something about it, because, with Labour at Westminster saying that it will keep cruel Tory policies such as the rape clause and the two-child limit, and that it will cap benefits but not bankers’ bonuses, it is increasingly clear that Westminster values are not Scotland’s values.
While Westminster chose to introduce the rape clause, the Scottish Government chose to deliver the baby box. While Westminster chose to hike tuition fees, the Scottish Government chose to keep tuition free. While Westminster chose to hike prescription charges, the Scottish Government chose to keep prescriptions free. While Westminster chose to scrap the universal credit uplift, the Scottish Government chose to deliver the Scottish child payment. That is how we are delivering for the people of Scotland.
The Scottish Government has spent more than £1 billion mitigating the impacts of Westminster austerity over the past 13 years. We could and should be doing so much better. I am concerned about what the UK Government has announced in relation to changes to work capability assessments and I call on it to reverse those changes. I call on the UK Government to accept that it is not too late to look at universal credit and to set it at a level that provides enough support to include an essentials guarantee. We have asked the UK Government to do so, and yet that is not forthcoming.
We have built a new system in Scotland, with the powers at our disposal, but our hands remain tied by restricted powers and by UK Government austerity. Even with the significant restrictions that we face, we have delivered a social security system that is built on the values of dignity, fairness and respect. We have introduced 14 Scottish Government benefits—seven of which, remember, are available only in Scotland—thanks to an investment of £12 billion to March 2023, delivering for the people of Scotland when they need it most.
I move,
That the Parliament believes that social security plays a vital role in tackling poverty and reducing economic and social inequalities, and that the Scottish social security system must have dignity, fairness and respect at its heart; welcomes the Scottish Government’s record investment of £6.3 billion in social security expenditure in 2024-25 and that the Scottish Fiscal Commission has forecast that this is an investment of £1.1 billion more than the funding received from the UK Government through the social security block grant; notes that this investment includes the Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, as well as the landmark, and extended, Scottish Child Payment, which is estimated to lift 50,000 children out of relative poverty in 2024; recognises that £614 million of Scotland-only benefits are being delivered in 2024-25, which is support that is unparalleled across the UK; further recognises the substantial difference that Social Security Scotland is making through improved disability and carers benefits; notes that Scottish Government support is being delivered despite continued UK Government block grant cuts and continued UK Government austerity, and calls on the UK Government to drop planned Work Capability Assessment changes, introduce an essentials guarantee and immediately scrap the two-child cap and the associated so-called rape clause.
15:09