Fears that issues will ‘blunt’ new benefit

Problems with Universal Credit could “blunt the effect” of the Scottish Child Payment, MSPS have been warned.

Holyrood’s social security committee has raised concerns that eligible parents might miss out on the new payment if they are not claiming other benefits they are entitled to.

The proposed Scottish Child Payment is a new £10-a-week benefit aimed at tackling child poverty and recipients must already be receiving Universal Credit or pension credits to qualify.

After officials from the UK Department for Work and Pensions admitted to the committee last week they are not obliged to encourage the take-up of Universal Credit, the chairwoman of the Scottish Commission on Social Security said that could affect the intended impact of the new payment.

During a committee meeting yesterday, MSP Keith Brown asked Dr Sally Witcher: “We heard in the committee last week that the DWP has not laid down strategy for encouraging increased take-up, it has done no research on how to increase take-up and, unlike Scottish ministers, it doesn’t give itself an obligation to increase take-up.

“Given that, if we see continuously low levels of take-up of Universal Credit, is that not going to blunt the effect of this payment?”

Dr Witcher replied: “The short answer is: Yes, it would.”

She said people who would be eligible for Universal Credit have encountered problems with the application process and “just do without money to which they are entitled”.

Consequently, the Scottish Commission on Social Security has urged the Scottish Government to “attempt to maximise take-up of reserved benefits that confer eligibility to the payment, ideally in partnership with the DWP”.

Dr Witcher said: “Take-up is going to be central to the success of the payment.

“The social security system in general – and this benefit in particular – must therefore be as simple as possible for people to understand.”

The advisory body, in its report about the Scottish Child Payment, also suggested the government introduces a “double lock” to ensure payments increase annually based on either CPI inflation or growth in median income – whichever is higher.

Dr Witcher reasoned that because the payment “is very specifically targeted at tackling child poverty head-on” and relative poverty is defined in relation to median income, increases should be calculated by a similar measure.