'Invest more, not less, in social security'

Responding to the statement on sickness and disability benefit reform by the UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, John Dickie, the director of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, said: 

These reforms pose a real challenge to Scottish and UK government child poverty commitments. Children in a household where someone has a disability already have a higher risk of poverty and further cuts would only make life harder for many of these families. The UK government’s forthcoming child poverty strategy must prioritise investing in the social security system, including by scrapping the two-child limit at source. It would be undermined by cuts that take support away from people who need it and risk pushing yet more children and families into poverty.

 

The Scottish government’s child poverty strategy rightly recognises families affected by disability as a priority group. Any UK benefit reforms must ensure the interaction of the UK and Scottish benefit systems reduces rather than exacerbates the poverty too many disabled people face. We need governments in London and Edinburgh to work together and invest more, not less, in social security to deliver on their child poverty commitments and ensure our future economic prosperity.

Notes

For further comment contact John Dickie on 07795 340 618.