City’s treasurer sends warning to UK chancellor
Sunak urged to fix Universal Credit ‘urgently’
THE Chancellor has been urged to make urgent changes to Universal Credit and the welfare system to help people in Glasgow suffering hardship as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
City Treasurer Richard Bell (pictured) has written to Rishi Sunak calling for an end to the five-week wait for a first Universal Credit payment. He also asks for the benefit cap to be scrapped and for an end to benefits sanctions.
Mr Bell said the Universal Credit system did not work for those it is supposed to help before the coronavirus crisis and must be radically reformed to cope with the greater number of people who need help now.
Mr Bell, who recently took over from Allan Gow as City Treasurer in the SNP administration, welcomed the measures Mr Sunak has so far introduced, including grants for businesses and the furlough scheme to help keep people in jobs.
In the letter he states: “To date the advice for those who have lost their jobs or been ineligible for the furlough scheme has been to apply for Universal Credit.
“However, evidence is quickly emerging of citizens already experiencing in-work poverty now struggling to access capped benefits and having to wait weeks for any lifeline.
“Universal Credit was not fit for its purpose pre-pandemic and is a system which is not up to the task now.
“That isn’t only the case for Universal Credit, many of the services we deliver day in and out were not designed to withstand an event like Covid-19.”
He also asks the Chancellor to consider ending the two-child tax credit limit and suspend the “no recourse to public funds” rule for failed asylum seekers and some immigration cases.
Mr Bell said: “The UK system was broken before coronavirus and it sure as hell isn’t up to supporting people through some of the challenges that are now emerging and that lie ahead.
“We are spending huge sums of money to protect the economy – and governments in both Scotland and Westminster deserve credit for delivering that support.
“However, their efforts will be critically undermined if UK ministers don’t also take action to stop those in the most difficult of circumstances from falling through the holes in the very safety net that is supposed to catch them.”
He added: “Nobody in the city government is thinking about how to turn the clock back to February.
“This virus is going to be with welfare us, in some shape or form, for a long time and Glasgow needs a recovery that copes with that immediate challenge; but also lays the groundwork for the city to flourish for generations to come.
“I’m calling on the Chancellor and his colleagues to show the same kind of ambition.”
Services in the city have been put under pressure due to increased demand, but also from staff having to self-isolate with coronavirus symptoms.
Mr Bell told Mr Sunak that the city is anticipating greater demand on heath and social services and financial assistance as a result of the lockdown and the economic consequences.
He said: “We are seeing a notable rise in homeless applications from people whose incomes and tenancies have been put at grave risk. “Frontline Glasgow City Council staff and our partners are preparing for an upsurge in domestic abuse, mental health problems and youth unemployment, among many more challenges.”
The Chancellor is expected to offer an update soon on the scaling back of the furlough scheme – but Mr Bell urged him not to act too early.
He added: “It’s crucial this support stay in place throughout the subsequent phases as we recover.”