MPs to probe May’s brutal war on poor
Group will also look at Jobcentre axe plans
THERESA May’s cruel policies hitting the disabled and benefit claimants in Scotland are to be scrutinised by a influential group of MPs.
The Commons Work and Pensions Committee are to investigate Jobcentre closures in Scotland, excessive telephone charges for claimants and the effects of new disability assessments being carried out by the Government.
The move is a seen as a victory for Chris Stephens MP, SNP member of the all-party committee, who demanded an end to premium-rate call charges faced by claimants, dubbed the “telephone tax”.
He urged the Department for Work and Pensions to drop expensive 0345 numbers that have seen his constituents paying up to £9 to inquire about their benefits status.
Controversial plans to shut six Jobcentre Plus offices in Glasgow will also be examined by the MPs.
Frank Field, the veteran Labour MP who chairs the Work and Pensions Committee has also agreed to investigate the rollout of universal credit and whether the changes are piling more misery on vulnerable people.
Stephens, MP for Glasgow South West, said: “These are the everyday challenges that my constituents face and it is an honour to be on the committee that will hold the government to account.”
The move came as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn attacked the Tories’ record on disability benefits at Prime Minister’s Questions.
He told Theresa May that the United Nations committee on the Rights of Persons concluded that the Government’s policies have caused “grave and systematic violations” of the rights of disabled people.
Corbyn said: “We have seen punitive assessments and sanctions, cuts to disability benefits, and the bedroom tax that has hit disabled people, 4.2million of whom now live in poverty.”
But May was unmoved. She responded: “We spend more than £50billion on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.
“As a share of GDP, our public spending on disability and incapacity is the second highest in the G7.
“I suggest, therefore, that he thinks again on this matter.”