Hansard

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests.

Social security exists to provide a safety net, but safety nets are of no use if they have holes in them. To promise a new way but not manage the forecast spend is not just unfair but a dereliction of responsibility. So, too, is marching people up a hill with promises of a kinder approach when, according to a report on ADP by Edel Harris OBE, disabled people remain frustrated about processes, inconsistent decision making and the lack of understanding of particular conditions.

My inbox reflects that reality. I have had constituents who have struggled to get information in accessible formats—they might have visual impairment or need the information in another language. We were told that the production of letters in different formats requires a manual workaround, but we should remember that we are talking about an information technology system that was millions of pounds over budget, so it is of concern that it is failing on a basic aspect of meeting needs.

Advice services in Glasgow have told me that they find the system hard to navigate. According to Citizens Advice Scotland, the fastest-growing areas of advice on ADP relate to redeterminations and appeals. That means repeating information, and it leaves people exhausted, unheard and without hope.

According to Audit Scotland’s assessment, there will be a funding gap of £2 billion by 2029-30, with the absence of a strategy to fill it. Warm words, or, as the Government’s amendment says, a “commitment to ... principles”, mean nothing if the Government cannot put its money where its mouth is. The Government uses warm words but does not put in the hard graft to deliver the deeds. The job of government is to do things, not just to say things.

That is why I welcome the announcement in the UK budget of the removal of the two-child limit for those on universal credit, which will lift an estimated 450,000 children across the UK out of poverty. That is the biggest projected fall in child poverty on record, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The UK Government is not just saying empty words; it is acting.

The UK Government did not, and Scottish Labour would not, stop there, because tackling the causes of poverty and boosting the means of defeating it, including through employability, housing and education, need action, too—action that the SNP Government has failed to take. The long-term solution to breaking the cycle of poverty must include supporting people into good, well-paid jobs. That means properly funding colleges to deliver skills, providing apprenticeships in key skills areas for anyone who qualifies and supporting people who desperately want to work but who face relentless discrimination or barriers to getting into work.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that the disability employment gap in Scotland still sits at 31.5 per cent. Although some disabled people are unable to work, we know that, with the right support and structures in place, many want to work and many can thrive in the workplace and contribute significantly to the economy.

The equality academy run by the Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living is an incredible example of how that can be done. The organisation, which is in my region, runs an internship programme that provides NHS placements for disabled graduates. The programme supports disabled people to unlock their potential and has an 88 per cent success rate for getting people into work. We need more such programmes.

Then there are the thousands of disabled people who are left languishing on social care and NHS waiting lists, unable to access the support that they need to fulfil their potential. There are 1.7 million people in Scotland with arthritis or musculoskeletal conditions, which are among the biggest causes of persistent pain, disability and lost working days. Such people could benefit from a hip or knee replacement, for example, yet of the more than 10,000 waits of over 52 weeks for in-patient day-case treatment in Glasgow at the end of October, 15 per cent were for orthopaedics.

It is clear that there is still such a long way to go to ensure that people are able to realise their human rights, including the right to work. A Scottish Labour Government would set about removing the barriers. We would clear the waiting list backlog so that fewer people were locked out of work, revitalise colleges and reform employability.

The UK Labour Government has already delivered a direct pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest-paid Scottish workers. That is the sort of action that we need—action to deliver the rights of people to participate in society, to work and to contribute. That is how people have dignity; that is how we empower people; that is how we meet the skills gap in Scotland; and that is how we will not just reduce poverty, but consign it, rightly, to the dustbin of history.