The SNP have been urging the UK Conservative Government to maintain the £20 boost to Universal Credit and extend it to legacy benefits. All six Scottish Conservative MPs abstained on a vote which would have ensured that.
Figures revealed that the UK Prime Minister’s plans to remove the £20 uplift in April would push 15,675 people in West Lothian further into poverty.
The SNP Government has led the way in tackling poverty, with new benefits such as the Scottish Child Payment and a social security system based on dignity and respect.
It has been estimated, by the anti-poverty think-tank the Resolution Foundation, that the weekly £20 cut to Universal Credit could see the incomes of low-income families fall by more than 4% and push a further 820,000 children into poverty across the UK.
Hyslop commented,
“Over 15,500 individuals and families would be hit by the Tory plans to decrease the budget of Universal Credit. To do this, especially in the middle of a pandemic and economic crisis, is unacceptable and will be detrimental to those who are already in hardship.
“The SNP will continue to call on the Conservative Government for a U-turn on this reckless, money-saving decision, and I urge all local MSPs to support this call on the UK Government.
“Decisions like this once again reminds us that the Scottish population should not have to suffer at the hand of the Conservatives. The Tory Government are not acting in a way which protects the income and interests of the most vulnerable in Scotland. The only way to ensure that the people of Scotland are treated as equals and are well represented by their government is for Scotland to become an independent country.”
ENDS