DWP accused of piling misery on victims of recession

A GOVERNMENT department has been accused of causing problems for those who are struggling in the wake of the recession.

More than two-thirds of workers in Scotland's Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) believe that the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) is causing clients the most problems.

When a survey of CAB staff asked which agencies were causing difficulties for people, 67.6 per cent said it was the DWP.

Meanwhile, 80.5 per cent of those questioned said it was banks and other creditors, such as credit card companies. CAS chief executive Lucy McTernan said: "This survey shows that Scotland's CAB staff believe the impact of the recession will continue to blight vulnerable people throughout 2011, and that neither the banks nor the government are doing enough to help.

"We have argued in the last few years that the pace of the government's welfare reforms is really hurting the most vulnerable.

"We intend to step up our campaigning in 2011 to make sure that politicians of all parties understand the level of suffering out there."