Report urges Scottish government to soften impact of the Tories’ Universal Credit
![Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green is responsible for driving through Universal Credit [Image: Daily Mirror].](https://voxpoliticalonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/160904-Damian-Green.jpg)
Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green is responsible for driving through Universal Credit [Image: Daily Mirror].
The report’s author, economist Dr Roger Cook, recommends that the SNP government should make sure payments go to individuals, rather than households as the Tories want, to protect victims of domestic abuse.
No such protection will be available to claimants in the rest of the UK.
And Dr Cook wants a clear agreement with Tory Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green that he won’t use new Scottish benefits as an excuse to slash universal credit payments.
Agains, the rest of the UK is at Green’s mercy – such as it is.
This is a reminder that, under the Conservatives, Universal Credit is a stick used to beat the poor. Or will be, if they ever manage to make it work.
The Tories’ new welfare system is deeply flawed and a “significant threat” to the poorest, says a damning report.
An expert found major problems with the universal credit scheme and warned that the Scottish Government cannot fully protect its victims.
The report for the progressive Scotland Institute think-tank says universal credit is driven by right-wing ideology and riddled with problems.
The institute fear families who get in-work benefits could lose up to £3000 a year because of it.
Source: Tories’ new welfare system is deeply flawed and a “significant threat” to the poorest – Daily Record
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Apart from time-limiting the benefit it is difficult to see how Universal Credit could be any worse than it already is.
We’ll just have to wait and see with this one. Although the media keep on about all Scotland new powers and suggest how to use them, they are not as powerful as some think.
The SG will have power over disability issues and payments but UC is still a mainly reserved payment. The SG should have the ability to change the housing element and the way in which UC will be paid. Much of this is only at the discretion of Fluffy Mundell (Secretary of State for Tories in Scotland), as well as the DWP saying changes won’t be too difficult for them, since they will still control the actual payments.
The SG have confirmed that the Bedroom Tax will not be applied to UC and that their current discretionary payments will still apply to HB claiments. They are also going to return the ability to have HB paid to landlords, if that is what the tennat prefers, which could save a lot of people getting in arrears and being evicted. They hope to make this apply to private tenants too. They are going to give the option of payments 2-weekly, rather than monthly, which should hopefully result in less delay in receiving the entitled benefits.
The costs of any of these changes have to come from the SG’s budget, obviously, so, as I said, we’ll have to wait and see.
Why are we putting up with the Conservative Government’ aggressive assault on the most vulnerable an assault fully backed by the Left Wing Stalwarts Owen Smith Harriet Harmon Tom Watson the PLP and certain members of the NEC and a cast of nonentities. I have been around for a good few years I’ve seen massive changes in the Political Spectrum, what this Country of ours is suffering now is the Legacy left by Thatcher, Major, Smith, Blair, Cameron, May’ Legacy will not differ from those named. All these PM’ and most of their members of Parliament had one thing in Common they Despised the Welfare State the free at point of entry NHS and had a Hatred of the Poor, Disabled, and Elderly that was and still is Criminal, at least 3 of the named PM’ are War Criminals and Murderers. Look no further than the Middle East it is a total disaster area the cause Reagan Thatcher Bush Blair Obama Cameron the same applies to Afghanistan and Syria Libya etc, etc, etc, the insanely laughable reason for invading these Countries the Governments were treating the people Badly WTF has successive UK Governments been doing to us!!!!!
From Thatcher Major Smith Blair Brown Cameron and now May what a Motley Crew this is between them they have Robbed our Pensions Sold every Public Asset we had Destroyed the NHS and Welfare State, they have pushed and bullied Disabled Unemployed and Elderly People into Committing Suicide, now for the Lying Murdering Warmongers who sent our Lads and Lassies like so many other Politicians before them to Die in faraway lands for Nothing. Between them they have Killed our Sojers in Wars built on LIES, these PMs have also spent Hundreds of Billions of GBP carrying out the Illegal Invasions when o when are the decent people of Britain going to do something about the Criminals Masquerading as Politicians
Why are you calling Owen Smith, Harriet Harman and Tom Watson “left wing”?