Meeting of the Parliament 03 October 2017
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which I know Mr Tomkins is very fond of quoting, called on the Conservatives to reverse the two-child limit. Originally, the Conservatives said that the transition from the current benefits and tax credits system to universal credit would result in more people gaining than losing, but the reverse is now the case. In policy terms and in delivery, the UK Government system is fundamentally flawed, is being delivered with incompetence and needs to be halted. If thousands of people are being driven into hardship and misery, why continue with that when the system can be fixed? That is straightforward, and it is beyond my understanding why a Government will not listen to all the evidence that it has and make changes.
The Scottish Government will make possible the choices that people want: to be able to be paid twice monthly and to decide whether their rent is paid directly to their landlord—social or private—or to themselves. We will also continue our work on how we will address single household payments. However, let me be clear that we have to pay the DWP for ensuring that people have those choices. We have to pay it to do something that is the right thing to do and which it has been told consistently is what it ought to do. For years, people have told the DWP that the approach creates a problem that could be fixed in that way.
Media reports at the weekend said that Iain Duncan Smith, who was the main architect of universal credit, did not want to hear the bad news about failings of the system. His approach was blinkered, and he marched on regardless. However, he is only one of four Secretaries of State for Work and Pensions since the original white paper on universal credit was published in 2011, and not one of them has been brave enough to pause that shambolic system and take the necessary time to fix the problems that are inherent in the design and delivery of universal credit.
Real leadership comes from listening, paying attention to evidence, and fixing problems. It comes from admitting when you have got it wrong, not from standing by flawed decisions and forging ahead with the blinkers on.
We need, and our people in Scotland deserve, a social security system that puts meaning behind the principles of dignity and respect and that puts people at its heart. I urge every member to support the motion and to call on the UK Government to act now to immediately halt the roll-out of universal credit and fix the problems.
I move,
That the Parliament calls on the UK Government to immediately halt the roll-out of universal credit full service due to the overwhelming evidence of the damage that it is causing recipients; agrees that the clear failings in the design and delivery of the system must be addressed; condemns the six-week wait for the first payment of universal credit, which is pushing people into rent arrears, debt and crisis; notes the evidence from a wide range of third sector organisations that highlights the hardship and harm being caused by universal credit; notes that the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee inquiry into universal credit has highlighted the fundamental flaws that must be resolved before full service roll-out proceeds; welcomes the Scottish Government’s use of flexibilities over the system to provide recipients in Scotland a choice of more frequent payments and for the housing element to be paid direct to landlords, but recognises that this does not address the most damaging aspects built in to universal credit; recognises the Scottish Government’s commitment to introduce split payments of universal credit and to work with stakeholders to consider how these can be delivered in Scotland; welcomes the joint letter from COSLA and the Scottish Government demonstrating the defects of universal credit and calling for the roll-out to be paused, and believes that the UK Government must stop ignoring the overwhelming evidence that shows the negative impact of universal credit full service and take urgent action to fix the problems and make the system fit for purpose and work for the people of Scotland.
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