Child poverty warning over changes to welfare

CHANGES to the welfare system will “wind the clock back” by more than a decade for child poverty levels, a think-tank adviser has warned a Holyrood committee.

Dr Jim McCormick, Scotland adviser with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said UK Government proposals aimed at simplifying the benefits system would put the country on track to miss child poverty alleviation targets.

Dr McCormick was appearing at the first meeting of Holyrood’s Welfare Reform Committee, set up to scrutinise the Welfare Reform Bill currently passing through Westminster.

The Bill will bring in a £26,000-a-year household benefits cap and set up the universal credit for benefits.

Charities, trade unions and public-sector organisations have warned the changes could lead to a rise in homelessness and child poverty, as well as have an adverse effect on disabled and vulnerable people.

Speaking during a round-table discussion at the committee, Dr McCormick said the benefits package being proposed by the UK Government would be “substantially poverty increasing”.

He said figures from work carried out for the foundation by the Institute for Fiscal Studies indicated that by 2020, the UK would be left with the “remarkable situation where we have the UK Government and the devolved administrations all signed up to the child poverty targets of a big reduction in child poverty, and yet we are on track to miss that target by two and half times”.

Michael McClements, policy manager at council umbrella group Cosla, warned that services provided by local authorities would be put under increased pressure.