THERE MUST BE AN INCENTIVE TO WORK ... THIS IS A HAND UP, NOT A HANDOUT

TODAY in Scotland, and across the rest of the UK, the new lower benefit cap comes into effect. The cap is based on a clear principle that work should always pay more than benefits, so there is a clear incentive for people to find work.

It is only fair to hard-working families who are barely managing that people are always better off in work than on benefits.

So it was right that we put an end to the sky-high benefit claims – it’s a simple issue of fairness. Before the benefit cap was introduced there were at least 50 households in Scotland receiving benefits equivalent to a working household’s gross earnings of £60,000 a year.

This was very damaging. Not only is it unsustainable but these families were trapped on benefits with no incentive to move into work.

Every day – from the Shetland Islands to Stranraer – Scottish Daily Mail readers are working hard and supporting their families.

Quite rightly, they want make sure their taxes are being used responsibly – providing support to those who need it but, crucially, providing a hand up, not just a hand out, by helping those who can work into a job.

The new lower benefit cap of £20,000 means we have a benefits system that is fair to those who pay for it and those who use it.

Supporting those people who can work into jobs so they can improve their families’ lives is at the heart of everything we do.

Because we know that children in households where no one works are three times more likely to grow up in relative low income than children in families where at least one adult has a job.

That is why, along with our welfare reforms, we have increased the personal tax allowance and introduced the National Living Wage, giving a pay rise to thousands of people in Scotland, on the lowest incomes, as we continue to support working families as we build a country for everyone, not only the privileged few.

But of course we will always protect those who cannot work. Most disability benefit claimants – those receiving Carer’s Allowance and Guardian’s Allowance – are exempt from the benefit cap. People with a severe lifelong condition, who are not going to improve, will not be forced through the stress and bureaucracy of having to be reassessed for benefits.

Since 2010 we have taken the necessary steps to secure our economy, take control of our finances and restore fairness to our welfare system to deliver opportunity for the people of Scotland.

Scotland has seen robust growth over the past six years. Wages have risen, unemployment has fallen and the number of Scots in work has reached a near record high of 2.6 million.

OUR welfare reforms are playing a part in that. Since 2013 a fifth of Scottish households who were subject to the benefit cap have now moved into work.

We want to help even more people to take up the opportunities that are available.

Across Scotland employers are continuing to invest – companies such as Persimmon, which has announced a £75million house building programme to deliver 500 new homes and 1,200 new jobs on the south side of Glasgow, and Scottish Water who just signed a £200million, five-year deal, creating more than 100 new jobs and safeguarding almost 300 existing ones.

This is a testament to the strength of our Union and the steps we together have taken to ensure opportunity and work is offered across the UK.

We are committed to creating a Britain that works for everyone – so people, no matter where they are from or their background, can make the most of the opportunities created by a strong, united country.

Alongside this we are, of course, devolving significant powers to the Scottish Government under the Scotland Act.

That includes £2.8billion worth of welfare powers this year and means the Scottish Government can deliver employment support and top-up benefits where they feel necessary.

But it is for the Scottish Government to decide if and how it delivers these new powers.

When I was in Holyrood at the end of last week I reiterated my commitment to work with the Scottish Government to continue to deliver the best deal for Scotland.