The SNP has repeated calls for the UK government to maintain the
£20 boost to Universal Credit and extend it to legacy benefits
after a welfare expert warned that ending it in March would be
"too punitive a policy right now" and it is “not the right thing
to do.”
Dame Louise Casey, a former homelessness adviser to the UK
government, has repeatedly echoed the SNP’s calls to strengthen
welfare protections and previously warned that the UK faces a
"period of destitution" where families "can't put shoes on" their
children.
The renewed call comes after a growing backlash from the third
sector towards the Tory government after it failed to oppose
plans to cut the Universal Credit uplift in yesterday’s vote.
While the SNP voted against the cuts, Scottish Tory MPs abstained
- despite previously backing an extension uplift.
Commenting, the SNP’s Inclusive Society spokesperson, Brendan O’
Hara MP said:
"If the UK government won't listen to the SNP and the countless
anti-poverty campaigners then it must listen to its own former
homelessness adviser - who has warned cutting the Universal
Credit uplift is ‘not the right thing to do.’
“The Chancellor must make the Universal Credit uplift permanent
and roll it out to legacy benefits, if we are to protect the
incomes of six million people in the middle of an economic crisis
and global pandemic. And he must commit to this now to stop the
uncertainty and stress for millions who are finding it impossible
to plan with the UK government’s sporadic decisions and u-turns.
People cannot continue to live their lives like this.
“It will take more than maintaining and extending the uplift to
fix the damage done to millions of families – the UK social
security system needs a total overhaul - but it would be a start.
“Dame Louise Casey said pushing ahead with cuts to Universal
Credit would see the Tory party viewed as the ‘nasty party’ –
unfortunately many families in Scotland and across the UK already
view them as such after suffering from a decade of Tory austerity
cuts and/or being left out of available coronavirus support for
months.
“And the spineless six Scottish Tory MPs have done nothing to
change the people in Scotland's minds on this. They abstained on
the vote to cut Universal Credit yesterday and have consistently
failed to stand up for Scotland. They cannot be trusted to
protect Scotland's interests.
"Scotland shouldn't have to wait for Westminster to act.
Westminster’s repeated failures have proven that the only way to
secure a strong, fair and equal recovery is for Scotland to
become an independent country - with the full powers needed to
build a fairer society."