Welfare Reforms going too deep and too fast

According to Nicola Sturgeon, Deputy First Minister “these reforms are coming against the back drop of some of the biggest cuts that we have seen to the welfare system in a generation.

“(On 7th January) we saw child benefits start to be removed from many people we estimate that will affect almost 100,000 people across Scotland and of course today the UK government presses ahead with plans to put a cap on increases to benefits including the benefits for many people who are working hard in low paid jobs.

“We would estimate that the cap on benefits including tax credits will affect around 700,000 working households across Scotland.

“So clearly these are changes with a big big impact in Scotland and I think they will cause more pain for some of the most vulnerable people and families across our society who are already struggling to cope.”

Nicola Sturgeon was giving evidence to the Welfare Reform committee on the 8th January. The committee was taking evidence on the Scottish government’s passported benefits consultation.

At our last Local Forum, we heard from the Scottish Government’s Local Authority spokesman Robin Haynes on the impact on Local Authorities of council tax benefit reduction, and from Peter Meehan a Local Authority Benefit Consultant on the solutions available to Local Authorities and Housing Associations to tackle the potential impacts of welfare reform and the introduction of universal credit later this year.

If you would like a copy of the notes and presentations please contact Chris Bell, Partner, Revenue and Collections.