Meeting of the Parliament 01 May 2024
It is always good when we get to discuss social security in the Scottish Parliament. The front benches are possibly the most stacked that they have been during a social security debate for a long time. However, I suspect that it is not just the topic but the person who moved the motion that has drawn people here this afternoon. I hope that the First Minister chose the topic as his swan song not just in order to take one last shot at the UK Government, but to bring members together in the chamber so that we can unite. I hope that he has taken the offer in the Conservative amendment seriously and that the Government will accept it so that a voice goes back to London that represents the whole of this Parliament.
The picture that we see before us is that the UK Government is taking time to consider the findings of the report carefully in order to find the best and most sustainable way forward. That has to be correct. We must get this right, because people have waited too long. No one in this chamber and no one in the debate is denying that the situation that we have reached is regrettable. Women planned their lives around the information that they had at the time, and there can be no doubt that this situation has left them worse off. However, that does not negate the fact that the Government has a responsibility to ensure that any and all possible unintended consequences are taken into account before any decision is made. We cannot rush into making decisions. We have seen in Parliament that, when rushed decisions are made and bad legislation is introduced, it does not survive in the time afterwards.
Of course we want the WASPI women to be given a fair deal. Apart from the fact that it would be the right thing to do, they have fought hard and run a successful campaign over the past number of years that deserves a just solution. However, we must ensure that the compensation is affordable and that it allows our social security system across the whole of the United Kingdom to remain sustainable. After all, that must be our consideration when we take any form of social security decision. There has to be an acknowledgement that decisions that are made today will have consequences that reach far into our future.