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The Broadest Shoulders?

The Broadest Shoulders?. Introduction. Key principles for welfare reform: the SCoWR manifesto Current welfare reforms – key concerns Challenges for Scotland. Scale of the Benefit Cuts:. £ 18 billion of cuts to welfare benefits

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The Broadest Shoulders?

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  1. The Broadest Shoulders?

  2. Introduction • Key principles for welfare reform: the SCoWR manifesto • Current welfare reforms – key concerns • Challenges for Scotland

  3. Scale of the Benefit Cuts: • £18 billion of cuts to welfare benefits • £9 billion of cuts falling on households containing disabled people. • Impact in Scotland = £2.5 billion being taken out of local economies • Inclusion Scotland estimate at least half of that (over £1 billion) is being taken from Scottish disabled people and their families)

  4. SCoWR Manifesto • Based on experience of over 40 organisations and tens of thousands people they work with. A vision for welfare that: • genuinely protects people from poverty • is based on human rights and treats people with dignity • is simplified, so that barriers to work are removed • provides the support people need to participate • takes into account devolved Scottish service provision

  5. Key concerns Welcome the stated aims of simplifying, making moves into work easier and tackling poverty. However fundamental concerns – • Preceded and underpinned by massive cuts • Fails to address inadequacy of benefit levels • Focus on increasing conditionality – punitive • Undermined by steep taper rates

  6. Challenges for Scotland • Replacement of council tax benefit –need to ensure that support protected and further work disincentives avoided • Replacement of discretionary social fund – need to protect eligibility and maintain support • New criteria for passported benefits – need to maximise support and take up • Need to ensure advice and information adequate so that households get the support entitled to and can make informed decisions

  7. Access to Work April 2010- Mar 2011 35,830 individuals helped through Access to Work April 2011-Mar 2012 30,690 individuals were helped through Access to Work So in 1 year, over 5,000 fewer individuals received Access to Work support, a drop of 15% in the total caseload. The number of existing Access to Work customers being assisted fell by nearly 2,000 during 2011/12 from 22,510 to 20,760, a drop of 8% and the first such fall in 5 years.

  8. Access to work • The fall in new customers helped by Access to Work was even more pronounced. The numbers fell from 13,330 in 2010/11 to 9,930 in 2011/12, a drop of 25% • This is the lowest number of new customers helped in 5 years, down 40% since the last election.

  9. Mobility Allowance - losers Using DWP projections, by 2015 IS estimates: • In Scotland, about 74,000 working age disabled people will lose some or all of their mobility allowance: • 31,800 will lose higher rate mobility allowance • 41,900 will lose lower rate mobility allowance Potentially these disabled people will also lose passported benefits e.g. blue badge, concessionary travel cards.

  10. Housing Benefit • From April 2013 housing benefit for working age people in social rented homes will be linked to the size of property that the Government believes they need. • DWP figures show that of a total of 670,000 households affected by this change about 450,000 (66%) will contain a disabled person. • Scottish Government estimates that 95,000 households will be affected by the under-occupation rule. If the two thirds estimate holds good then at least 62,000 of these households will contain a disabled person.

  11. Homelessness & Poverty: Scottish Government estimates that of the 95,000 households affected – • They will lose on average between £11 and £25 pw • 8,000 households will secure smaller properties. • Half of the remainder (i.e. 43,500) will meet their rent payments. • Half will fall into arrears. • A quarter of those who fall into arrears (i.e. between 10 – 11,000 households) will be evicted.

  12. Online access to Universal Credit • UC will be phased in from Oct 2013 (tax credits, income support, housing benefit) • Claimants will have to apply on-line • If there are mistakes in applications, claimants will be fined £50 • Last year, only 44% of Scots disabled people had access to, and used, the internet. This compares to 79%net access and usage amongst those without a disability.

  13. Barriers to the internet • Income – less than 50% disabled people in work compared to 80% non-disabled people. • Blind/visually impaired people – access to websites, screenreaders, filling in online forms • Illiteracy: Learning/cognitive impairments, poverty and unemployment : 2/3 of people out of work have the lowest literacy levels.

  14. What can be done? • Scottish Government/Parliament –Welfare Reform Committee, Welfare Reform Scrutiny Group, responses to Scottish Passported Benefits Consultation (28th Sept). • Local Authorities and DPOs: Need to start planning for increased demand on welfare advice & advocacy services – co-producing local strategies. • For more information about SCoWR contact Maggie Kelly, c/o The Poverty Alliance, maggie.kelly@povertyalliance.org • For more information on Inclusion Scotland contact, Bill Scott, bills@inclusionscotland.org

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