60,000 Scots face poverty if benefits cut
More than 60,000 Scots could be plunged i nto pover t y i f plans to scrap the additional £ 20- a- week Universal Credit payment go ahead, the Scottish government has warned.
Abolishing the emergency benefit increase introduced during the coronavirus pandemic and reinstating t he minimum income floor for the self- employed would reduce people’s total income by up to £ 476 million over the next financial year.
The Scottish government calculates that this will leave an additional 60,000 people – including 20,000 children – in poverty.
That would amount to an increase of t wo percentage points compared to if the benefit uplift was retained.
But t he UK g ove r nment argues the Scottish government has “significant welfare powers” to help those with the lowest incomes. Social Security Secretary Shirley- Anne Somerville said: “We are very concerned about the economic impact of the pandemic on people, particularly those on low incomes.
“This report highlights that if these cuts go ahead, hundreds of thousands of households in Scotland will see their incomes drop by more than £ 1,000 per year. This could push even more people into poverty.”
Ms Somerville, along with Welsh and Nor t hern I r i s h ministers, wrote to the UK government’s Work and Pensions Secretary, Therese Coffey, to call for the £ 20 increase to be made permanent and extended to other benefits due to be replaced by Universal Credit.
A UK government spokeswoman said: “The UK government is wholly committed to supporting the lowestpaid families, boosting welfare support by £ 9.3 billion in response to the pandemic
. Scotland has significant welfare powers and can top up existing benefits, pay discretionary payments and create entirely new benefits in areas of devolved responsibility.”
Povert y Alliance director
Peter Kelly said: “I ncreasi ng Univer s a l Cr e di t pay - ments was the right thing to do when the pandemic first struck. It has been a vital lifel i ne f or hundreds of t housands and it is right that this suppor t r emains i n place. More people will be swept into even deeper poverty if the £ 20 uplift is cut. Lone parents will be particularly hard hit.”