The state of play
Nearly 130,000 disabled Scots could be forced to go through cruel Tory assessments because the SNP has delayed the transfer of social security powers to Holyrood.
More than 128,000 working-age Scots currently in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) are due to be assessed for the new Personal Independence Payments (PIP).
These cruel assessments have stripped benefits from disabled people across the UK.
We can do things differently
The Scottish Government now has wide ranging powers over social security thanks to the 2016 Scotland Act – the post-referendum Vow delivered in full.
It’s an opportunity to build a social security system that is there for all of us in our time of need.
It means that these assessments can be scrapped in Scotland.
SNP ministers are dragging their heels
But since then it has emerged that the SNP government has asked the UK Tory government to retain control over certain benefits until 2020, effectively delaying the full transfer of welfare powers.
That means tens of thousands Scots still face an assessment under the current system.
Scottish Labour will strengthen the social security safety net
Scottish Labour has more radical plans than any other party for social security, such as:
• Halting the roll-out of Universal Credit
• Kicking the private sector out of the welfare system
• Increasing Child Benefit by £240 a year by 2020
• Increasing the take-up of tax credits and housing benefit to ensure everyone gets what they are entitled to
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