| Reader George S Gordon alerted me to this. All feeds welcomed! |
If you try to argue that Scotland is becoming a fairer country than its big neighbour, the MSM media and opposition politicians will be infuriated at this display of ‘unjustified exceptionalism’ even anti-Englishness, somehow.
Talk of this kind here, has been a bit sidelined, for obvious reasons, but this announcement, to my knowledge ignored elsewhere, is special. Do share it.
Opinion piece by Cabinet Secretary for Social Security, Shirley-Anne Somerville.
From this week, thousands of families across Scotland will start to get letters telling them they are entitled to new Scottish benefits. This is a first in Scotland and shows that when it comes to social security – we’re doing things differently.
We’re taking information from DWP and HMRC to identify people who are on certain benefits or tax credits and have children of the right age, and we’re writing to tell them about the financial support we have available and actively inviting them to apply.
This is all part of our commitment to making sure people get all the financial support that they are entitled to – helping to maximise incomes and tackle poverty.
https://blogs.gov.scot/fairer-scotland/2020/07/29/are-you-eligible-for-more-support/
Can you imagine the Tory benches froth if the DWP was to start encouraging people to claim benefits after checking with HMRC to make sure they weren’t missing out?
This is one more brick in the wall of our emerging difference with Cruel Britain. Here are quite a few earlier examples:
And on poverty:
With regards poverty tis The ABC and the vast majority who suffer from poverty
In the following areas
Honesty
Intellect
Being of free mind
Believers
Intergity
Decency
Fairness
Balance
As for ABC such is a national disgrace
And one of the 1st objectives of a Independent Scotland in order to tackle
This most serious issue of poverty is to
Put the obnoxious beasties who were responsible out of their misersble existance
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The JRF has a number of pieces on poverty in Scotland. It acknowledges that most of the levers for tackling poverty effectively lie with the UK government. (A deeply flawed fiscal settlement does not help.) Most of the effects of poverty in Scotland are due to the UK government. That said poverty levels in Scotland decreased from 1999 but began to increase again from 2009.
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/poverty-scotland-2019#:~:text=Poverty%20in%20Scotland%20is%20rising,one%20in%20four%20in%20poverty.
“This report shows the range of tools government has for solving poverty. New analysis shows the key role of housing in people’s lives, and how types of housing, and the lower cost of housing in particular in the social rented sector, mean that poverty is significantly lower in Scotland than in the rest of the UK overall.
The announcement of the Scottish Child Payment earlier this summer shows how seriously the Scottish Government is taking its legal obligations on reducing child poverty. But to reach the child poverty targets, and to make a Scotland without poverty for all a reality, we need a number of ambitious solutions across work, housing and social security. “
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