Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Christine Grahame) SNP

The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-08035, in the name of Jeane Freeman, on the roll-out of universal credit. I call Jeane Freeman to speak t...

The Minister for Social Security (Jeane Freeman) SNP

I have brought the motion to the chamber today to allow the Scottish Parliament to make clear its position on universal credit and to give Parliament the opp...

Jeremy Balfour (Lothian) (Con) Con

Does the minister welcome the statement made at the Conservative Party conference yesterday that the wait will be a maximum of five days? Will she welcome th...

Jeane Freeman SNP

Actually, what was mentioned at the Conservative Party conference—believe me, I will get to it—was what we already have. The only new thing that was said was...

Adam Tomkins (Glasgow) (Con) Con

In the words of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the current system, which universal credit is replacing, is “fragmented and traps people in poverty.” If un...

Jeane Freeman SNP

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 ...

Adam Tomkins (Glasgow) (Con) Con

Presiding Officer, “Universal Credit ... remains the right thing to do. The current system is fragmented and traps people in poverty. The prospect of an int...

Iain Gray (East Lothian) (Lab) Lab

In East Lothian, prior to the roll-out of universal credit, rent arrears had fallen by 20 per cent; on its introduction, rent arrears increased by 20 per cen...

Adam Tomkins Con

The DWP addressed the detail of that point in its responses to the Social Security Community. There was a particular problem in East Lothian, which was one o...

Maree Todd (Highlands and Islands) (SNP) SNP

Will the member take an intervention?

Adam Tomkins Con

No. On 14 March, the responsible minister, Damian Hinds MP, wrote to the Social Security Committee. He said: “I accept there are cases where claimants wait...

Jeane Freeman SNP

Will the member take an intervention?

Adam Tomkins Con

I will if I have time.

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

There is time for interventions for everyone in this debate.

Jeane Freeman SNP

Does Mr Tomkins accept that the DWP’s information that was released this year shows that one in four new UC claimants waits longer than six weeks, half of cl...

Adam Tomkins Con

That was more a speech than an intervention. The answer is straightforward. There is an interest-free loan, which needs to be paid back over a six-month per...

Alex Rowley (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab) Lab

When the Parliament last debated universal credit, a few weeks ago, I said that I would welcome a Government debate on the issue, so I am glad to be speaking...

Maurice Golden (West Scotland) (Con) Con

Does the member agree that the best way out of poverty is to work and that people who claim universal credit are 13 per cent more likely to be in work than p...

Alex Rowley Lab

Skills opportunities and employment are, for me, the best way out of poverty—I do not disagree with that. However, we need to provide support. It is clear th...

Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Green) Green

This is the second time in less than a month that the Parliament has debated the roll-out of universal credit. That is a clear reflection of the extraordinar...

Adam Tomkins Con

I am very grateful to the member for taking an intervention. One of the recent changes to universal credit has been the change in the taper rate from 65 per ...

Alison Johnstone Green

Yes, I agree, but that amounted to £0.7 billion, compared with an initial £3 billion cut. Research by the OBR shows that, by 2020, universal credit will tak...

Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD) LD

I welcome the Scottish Government’s motion and the opportunity that it affords the chamber to call a halt to the botched accelerated roll-out of universal cr...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

We move to the open debate. 16:08

Sandra White (Glasgow Kelvin) (SNP) SNP

It is important to remind members, particularly the Tories, that today we are discussing human beings and their situation; we are discussing not statistics, ...

Jeremy Balfour (Lothian) (Con) Con

I welcome the amendment in my colleague Adam Tomkins’s name and I fully support it. I suspect that there will not be a lot of consensus from other parties ab...

Jeane Freeman SNP

Will the member take an intervention?

Ruth Maguire (Cunninghame South) (SNP) SNP

Will the member give way?

Jeremy Balfour Con

Not at the moment. I will make some progress first, if that is okay. We have heard much about the great old system that we all loved so much—six forms, six ...

Sandra White SNP

Will the member give way?