UK nations unite over Labour's 'inadequate' devolution approach

The National

3 days ago

The Labour administration in Westminster has received a letter signed by the Scottish Parliament's Social Justice and Social Security Committee, the Northern Ireland Assembly's Committee for Communities, and the Equality and Social Justice Committee at Senedd Cymru raising concerns about its handling of planned welfare cuts.
Keir Starmer's Government is aiming to cut back disability and sickness benefits to the tune of £5 billion per year, primarily through cuts to Personal Independence Payments (Pip) and changes to the health element of Universal Credit.
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Despite a major rebellion among Labour MPs which could derail the proposals, Starmer has insisted he will try to plough ahead with plans which UK Government's assessments say will push 250,000 people – including 50,000 children – into poverty.
In their letter to the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which is leading the plans, the three devolved parliament committees raised serious concerns about the 'lack of robust data and jurisdiction-specific impact assessments'.
The letter said: 'Set against an economic backdrop that is already extremely challenging for disabled people and/or people with health conditions, the anticipated changes have led to significant concerns.
'Those affected and other stakeholders in each of our jurisdictions fear that the challenges faced entering or returning to the workplace will only worsen in the coming months and years.
Labour's DWP Secretary Liz Kendall has spearheaded the cuts'For many, the benefits they receive are not symptomatic of a 'broken' system but make a significant contribution to their health and well-being and enable them to actively participate in the workplace.'
They went on: 'The committees are agreed that inadequate consultation and engagement by the UK Government with stakeholders and the devolved institutions has contributed to this sense of concern.
'Limited in-person consultation at just nine events, and only in major cities, is also restricting further the opportunity to hear from the many people who fear their ability to enter or return to the workplace will be adversely affected by the UK Government's approach to reform.
'In addition, the lack of robust data and jurisdiction-specific impact assessments presents significant challenges for our three committees to effectively scrutinise potential impacts.
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"As the elected members who make up the three committees, we are well placed to assess demographic and historical contexts and to ensure dialogue is constructive and reform is meaningful and positive. However, we remain constrained by the lack of quality information.'
It concluded: 'Our committees fully support the stated ambition that 'no one should be consigned to a life on benefits just because they have a health condition or a disability, especially when they're able to and want to work with the right support in place'.
'However, in order to contribute meaningfully to the reform process, committees and citizens must be fully informed and offered every opportunity for meaningful engagement.'
The letter was signed by committee chairs Jenny Rathbone, from Welsh Labour, Collette Stevenson, from the SNP, and Colm Gildernew, from Sinn Fein.
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Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has added his voice to the senior figures calling on the Government to reconsider the welfare cuts, as has his London counterpart, Sadiq Khan, and Labour's First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan.
The joint letter echoes a similar joint intervention by the three devolved nations' first ministers in 2021, when the Tory-led UK government was looking to cut Universal Credit.
At the time, Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon, together with Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford, Northern Ireland first minister and deputy first minister Paul Givan and Michelle O'Neill, urged the UK government to stop the 'morally indefensible' benefit cuts.
Since then, Labour have entered power at Westminster on a pledge to "reset" devolved relationships.
The DWP was approached for comment.
SNP MSP Stevenson, the convener of Holyrood's Social Justice and Social Security Committee, said: 'The Labour Party is balancing the books on the backs of the most vulnerable, and the effect will be devastating. Nowhere is that more stark than the UK Government's own warnings that they will push 50,000 more children into poverty.
'This does not reflect Scotland's values and must not happen. That's why the SNP opposes these cuts, and now the devolved legislatures have joined us.'