Latest news with #socialsecurity
The Independent
19 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Scotland refuses to match Labour's ‘damaging' welfare cuts
The Scottish government announced it will not mirror the planned changes to welfare disability benefits proposed by Labour. The cost-cutting measures are largely focused on the Personal Independence Payment (PIP), designed to help with extra costs incurred by living with an illness or disability. The equivalent in Scotland is the Adult Disability Payment (ADP), and the administration of which is devolved to the Scottish government. Holyrood's social justice secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, confirmed the decision in an official announcement, criticising the UK government for the plans. Ms Somerville said: 'The UK government's proposed reforms will be hugely damaging to those who rely on social security support, particularly during the ongoing cost of living crisis. These plans have yet to be passed at Westminster, so there is still time for the UK government to step back from this damaging policy and I strongly urge them to scrap their harmful proposals. 'The reforms do not reflect the Scottish government's values. We will not let disabled people down or cast them aside as the UK government has done. We will not cut Scotland's Adult Disability Payment. 'The UK government should follow our lead and protect the social security safety system, rather than dismantling it. If they do not, then disabled people can draw no other conclusion than the UK government remain content to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable.' Ms Somerville highlighted findings by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that the changes are set to push 250,000 more people into poverty, including 50,000 children. The MSP for Dunfermline claimed this threatens to undermine work to reduce child poverty, pointing also to Labour's refusal to scrap the two-child benefit cap. Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall presented the welfare bill on Wednesday, which MPs are set to vote on next month - but are currently divided. Ms Kendall defended the reforms - aimed at encouraging more people off sickness benefits and into work - saying they were necessary as the 'social security system is at a crossroads'. She said: 'Unless we reform it, more people will be denied opportunities, and it may not be there for those who need it. "This legislation represents a new social contract and marks the moment we take the road of compassion, opportunity and dignity.' While Scotland is able to decide how to administer the ADP, the measures in the bill regarding Universal Credit are still liable to impact Scottish nationals, as this benefit is managed centrally. From April 2026, the payment rate for the health element of Universal Credit will be frozen. Those already receiving it will remain on £423.27 a month until 2029/30. However, new applicants after this month will receive a severely cut rate of £217.26 – almost half. The controversial proposals have drawn widespread criticism from charities and campaign groups. More than 100 Labour MPs are reportedly considering voting against the government on the plans as the government faces a significant rebellion.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Report calls for minimum income guarantee pilot in Scotland
A minimum income guarantee could be piloted in Scotland following next year's Holyrood policy would establish an income level below which nobody is allowed to fall, via reform to social security, work and services.A new report for the Scottish government said the guarantee would help provide a dignified quality of life, deliver financial security, and unlock opportunities for everyone in the group of charities, campaigners and academics also recommended doubling the Scottish child payment to £55 per week by 2031 while also effectively ending sanctions in the welfare system. An interim minimum income payment could be established by 2036, in line with the relative poverty level, according to the group - commissioned by ministers and chaired by Russell Gunson from the Robertson Trust grant-maker. Social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish government would consider the group's report and respond in due course. Some of the group's welfare changes would cost £671m per year by 2030/31, in today's the group said these would require just over £300m of additional spending if the UK government scraps the two-child limit and ends the five-week wait for universal Scottish Conservatives described the policy as "bizarre and unaffordable" due to the Mr Gunson said the guarantee could be transformative if it was implemented. He added: "Given the levels of poverty and inequality we see, we must act urgently."With technological change and an ageing population, we need to build security for all to make sure we can take the economic opportunities in front of Scotland."A minimum income guarantee could future-proof Scotland."He stated that the first step in the report were affordable with immediate effect. Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy said the proposal would see Scottish workers saddling the said: "The SNP have made no serious attempt to rein in wasteful public spending and a soaring welfare bill. "Now this report shows that a minimum income guarantee would cost billions - when Scottish taxpayers are already footing the bill for spending that is simply unsustainable and unaffordable."Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Scottish government were already trying to take action in a number of areas highlighted by the group's report, citing plans to end the universal credit two-child limit next year. However she added there would be no change to tax policy to help finance any guarantee. She stated: "The Scottish government is of course committed to ensuring that finances remain on a sustainable trajectory."We will continue to take forward our programme of work for doing this, which will be updated in the next Medium-Term Financial Strategy to be published later this month, alongside our fiscal sustainability delivery plan."We have no plans to change tax policy in Scotland to finance a minimum income guarantee."
The Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- The Herald
Sassa to provide food, cash vouchers, blankets and essential supplies to EC families affected by floods
South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) CEO Themba Matlou has pledged to help families affected by the floods in the Eastern Cape with essential needs. The province was hit by floods this week, affecting several towns and villages, with the OR Tambo and Amathole district municipalities the hardest hit. The floods destroyed homes and claimed 78 lives. Matlou said the agency will help families whose homes were destroyed through its social relief of distress programme. 'To this end, Sassa is active on three established sites where about 229 people are served with three nutritious meals a day, reinforcing the agency's commitment to immediate food security. In addition, 229 vanity packs and five baby packs have been procured and distributed to meet essential personal and infant care needs,' he said. Sassa has developed a disengagement plan where they provide beneficiaries with a basic needs package to help restore stability. The package includes: two-ply blankets; one mattress per person; cash vouchers to address short-term financial needs; and school uniforms for affected pupils. Matlou said this is in line with the agency's mandate derived from the Social Assistance Act. 'Social relief of distress is temporary provision of assistance intended for people in such dire material need that they are unable to meet their families' most basic needs. We also offer our condolences to the families of the deceased and wish a speedy recovery to those who are injured. 'We are working closely with the relevant stakeholders in the social cluster of the province to ensure maximum support is given to the distressed families. We extend our gratitude to stakeholders, partners and community members who continue to support this vital work.' TimesLIVE
Bloomberg
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Panetta on SCOTUS Giving DOGE Access to Social Security Data
Leon Panetta, Former US Secretary of Defense, voices his concerns about the US Supreme Court giving DOGE access to social security data after Elon Musk and President Trump's feud. He also criticizes President Trump's latest position on Russia and Ukraine. Leon Panetta speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on the late edition of Bloomberg's 'Balance of Power.' (Source: Bloomberg)
RNZ News
07-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
US Supreme Court grants DOGE access to social security data
A Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Washington, DC. File photo. Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP A divided US Supreme Court has granted President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) access to the social security data of millions of Americans. The decision came after the Trump administration appealed to the top court to lift an April order by a district judge restricting DOGE access to Social Security Administration (SSA) records. "SSA may proceed to afford members of the SSA DOGE Team access to the agency records in question in order for those members to do their work," the top court said in a brief unsigned order. The three liberal justices on the Supreme Court dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson saying the move poses "grave privacy risks for millions of Americans". "Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, bank-account numbers, medical records - all of that, and more, is in the mix," Jackson said. "The Government wants to give DOGE unfettered access to this personal, non-anonymised information right now - before the courts have time to assess whether DOGE's access is lawful," she said. In her April ruling, District Judge Ellen Hollander banned DOGE staff from accessing data containing information that could personally identify Americans such as their social security numbers, medical history or bank records. Social security numbers are a key identifier for people in the United States, used to report earnings, establish eligibility for welfare and retirement benefits and other purposes. Hollander said the SSA can only give redacted or anonymised records to DOGE employees who have completed background checks and training on federal laws, regulations and privacy policies. The case before Hollander was brought by a group of unions which argued that the SSA had opened its data systems to unauthorised personnel from DOGE "with disregard for the privacy" of millions of Americans. DOGE, which has been tasked by Trump with slashing billions of dollars of government spending, was headed at the time by SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, who has since had a very public falling out with the president. Trump has been at loggerheads with the judiciary ever since he returned to the White House, venting his fury at court rulings at various levels that have frozen his executive orders on multiple issues. - AFP
