LOCAL COUNCILS SPEND MILLIONS MITIGATING UNIVERSAL CREDIT

Published date : 28 Nov 2018

LOCAL COUNCILS SPEND MILLIONS MITIGATING UNIVERSAL CREDIT

FIFE MSP CALLS ON IMMEDIATE HALT TO FAILED TORY POLICY

Jenny Gilruth MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes has renewed calls for an immediate halt to Universal Credit after it was revealed that councils are spending millions of pounds attempting to undo the damage of this failed Tory policy.

A series of Freedom of Information requests discovered that local authorities in Scotland have spent more than £24 million to mitigate the harmful effects of Universal Credit, which has faced huge backlash since its introduction.

Fife Council set aside £200,000 to cover the rollout of UC and has spent £1,170.082 on costs relating to UC.

Universal Credit has been beset by problems since its rollout. This week, one of the UK’s biggest housing associations said that more than 100,000 children could face hardship over Christmas because families are being forced to wait for more than five weeks for their first benefit payment, and the Trussell Trust has warned that they are preparing for their busiest month ever – after a 15% rise in foodbank use in Scotland in the past year.

Jenny Gilruth MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes said:

“Universal Credit is a broken system – it’s leaving people destitute, driving kids into poverty and forcing families to rely on foodbanks in the Mid Fife and Glenrothes constituency.

“And these latest eye-watering figures show that Fife Council has been left picking up the pieces, being forced to shell out £1,170,082.

“Money is being diverted away from key public services to cover the costs and mitigate the damage caused by this appalling change being imposed by the UK Government on Scotland. That is fundamentally unfair.

“But there’s an easy solution – halt the rollout of Universal Credit and fix this broken policy. Or better still, put all welfare powers in the hands of the Scottish Parliament – so we can build a social security system which puts dignity, fairness and respect at its heart.”

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