Scottish Welfare Powers

Drew Hendry Excerpts

Tuesday 20th March 2018 Westminster Hall

[Bill Grant]

I can honestly say no, but I believe that it is not my role to do so at this juncture. The hon. Gentleman may have a different view, which I fully respect. If there is a need to do so, I will certainly take him up on that.

This is no easy feat. I accept that we cannot just magic up a new welfare system. I do not underestimate how much work must be done. We have known the timeline for the devolution of the powers for quite some time now, yet there is still no real detail about how the Scottish Government intend to use the important main powers. The fact is that Scottish National party Ministers in Scotland are proceeding exceptionally slowly with implementing this aspect of devolution. I suspect that the SNP is now beginning to realise that creating a welfare system that is fair to everyone, including taxpayers in the UK and in Scotland, is not an easy task. That I accept.

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

Disabled people across the UK have suffered a cut in their disability benefit of £30 a week under the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies says that some 10,000 disabled claimants in Scotland will have to find £1,400 a year. Does the hon. Gentleman believe that to be fair?

[Bill Grant]

Disability funding has increased over this Parliament, and will continue to do so. Fairness is a double-sided coin. The hon. Gentleman will learn that in the Scottish Government. Fairness must apply to the taxpayer and to those who receive assistance. I am sure that he agrees.

--- Later in debate ---

[Bill Grant]

I thank my hon. Friend for that. It may be prudent for us to focus on the purpose of the debate. The SNP appears to be unprepared for the powers it has demanded for so long. It has repeatedly demanded powers—it could be called a power grab—and it has now been granted them. We urgently need to know whether the Scottish Government will be ready to take on responsibility for welfare by 2020, as is planned, or whether they will have to ask the UK Government to delay the process. I hope that later in the debate the Minister will touch on some of the contingency plans we must have, as we cannot allow the Scottish Government’s delays to impact on those who rely on these benefits.

[Drew Hendry]

At the very least, the hon. Gentleman is being generous in taking interventions. Can I clarify something with him? He is saying that the Scottish Government are not taking action ahead of time. Does he support the hundreds of millions of pounds that the Scottish Government have put into mitigating the bedroom tax in Scotland?

[Bill Grant]

I have no issues. That is the choice of the Scottish Government, and I respect their choice. They have chosen to do that.

From what we do know of the SNP plans, we can see that they are likely to be incredibly expensive. The Scottish Fiscal Commission said that devolved welfare spending—this is an astronomical rise—will increase by nearly 50% between 2017 and 2023, going from £330 million to £470 million of taxpayers’ money. It is never the Government’s money; it is the tax raised from the hard-earned income of those in employment. Of course any system must be able to cope with the needs of those who depend on it, and do so adequately, but my concern is that the Scottish Government might devise a social security system that is so expensive that it will not provide fairness to taxpayers. The balance of need and affordability must be carefully considered.

--- Later in debate ---

[Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey) (SNP)]

The hon. Member for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Bill Grant) has brought this debate to the Chamber and was largely complaining about two things: cost and time. I do not have much time and so I would refer the hon. Gentleman to some of the speeches I have made about the misery of universal credit in my constituency since 2013, which he is invited to come and see.

Let me just make a point on cost. The UK Government have already lost in court, being found to have unlawfully discriminated against disabled people—a move that could cost billions. So there is the cost. In terms of dates, the Scottish Government will introduce the first of the devolved benefits, carers allowance, in the summer. It will bring in the best start grant in summer 2019, funeral expenses assistance in summer 2019, and the young carers’ grant—a £300 payment for young people—in autumn 2019. Recipients will also benefit from free bus travel from 2021. The Benefits Expert Advisory Group will extend winter fuel payments to families with children on the higher rate of disability living allowance and not means-test them. That is the way to deliver with the very limited powers that have been at the disposal of the Scottish Government, in terms of the best value for money and the best value for people.