Devolving of full welfare powers

THE Agenda article by Poverty Alliance director Peter Kelly (“Do the right thing, Scotland, and double the Child Payment”, November 26) was a call for justice: justice for those who are often struggling in silence, those who feel cut off and those who often take the biggest hit when the government yield the austerity axe.

Mr Kelly rightly highlights the cuts that have taken place in recent years by the Westminster Government; two-child limit, a cut in Universal Credit, and the benefit cap.

But as we do the sums with reference to the presentation of the forthcoming Scottish Budget on December 9, we may want to remind ourselves of actions the Scottish Government has taken in an effort to tackle child poverty.

Since the establishment of Social Security Scotland in 2018 we have seen the introduction of Best Start Grants, which have assisted over 180,000 families at a cost of £60m.

There has also been the setting-up of the Scottish Welfare Fund, which has seen substantial increases to its budget during the pandemic and has assisted almost a million households.

In an effort to give all new babies an equal start the SNP government introduced the Baby Box and has extended the roll-out of free school meals.

Only this week, a new benefit has been introduced, the Scotland Child Disability Payment; 52,000 child claimants will be moved onto it from the Disability Living Allowance.

The Scottish government brought further assistance to this sector in 2020 with the Child Winter Heating Assistance for claimants who receive the highest component of care allowance. And in an effort to address poverty, all Scottish government employees are paid the living wage.

I applaud Mr Kelly’s call but we have to appreciate what has already been done in an effort to tackle the scourge of poverty, and recognise that only 14 per cent of all welfare spend in Scotland is devolved.

So perhaps he would add his support to a call for full welfare powers to be devolved to Scotland with immediate effect, if we are to truly tackle poverty.

Catriona C Clark,

Banknock, Falkirk.