By Professor John Robertson
I’ve written many times now how the SNP in government, hamstrung by the limits of the devolution settlement, is working hard toward Alasdair Gray’s famous line – “Work as if you live in the early days of a better nation.”
We see it clearly, as long as we don’t rely on Scotland’s self-hating media, in the compensation for the bedroom tax and two child benefit cap, in the free prescriptions, the bus passes for youngsters to get them to college or apprenticeships, the progressive taxation and the world-leading child benefit which even the IFS had to admit makes poverty far less common and less harsh in Scotland. We see it in the greater supply of council and affordable housing. We see it in greater attempts to suppress wildlife cruelty, the greater efforts to tackle alcohol and drug abuse. We see it in the better staffed schools, hospitals and police services. We see it in the greater number of home visitors.
Apologies for everything else I’ve missed.
Today, against the background of silence from ‘their’ media, is this announcement today:
All disabled children and young people in Scotland who receive disability benefits will now be paid directly from Social Security Scotland.
Those children and young people who receive Child Disability Payment will also benefit from a review system different to that of the wider UK, one based on dignity, fairness and respect.
The latest figures show around 47,000 children and teenagers have had their awards moved to Child Disability Payment delivered by Social Security Scotland.
The transfers began in 2021 when the new benefit was launched to replace Disability Living Allowance for children, paid by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
Around 76,000 disabled children and young people in Scotland now receive Child Disability Payment, including around 31,000 who applied since the new benefit was launched.
Child Disability Payment helps cover the extra costs of caring for a disabled or terminally ill child or young person.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, said:
“One of the defining characteristics of the benefits system in Scotland is that people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect. Everyone in Scotland who previously received Disability Living Allowance for children from the UK Government now gets Child Disability Payment from Social Security Scotland. This has been a significant and important undertaking.
“The change means 47,000 more children in Scotland and their families can now look forward to less anxiety, less uncertainty and more financial security when their disability benefits come up for review.
“Social Security Scotland takes a human rights-based approach to reviews. The time between reviews is also set by case managers and can vary from two years to ten years. This is especially important for people with life-long disabilities and helps provide the financial security that is needed to pay for ongoing care and support.”
https://url.uk.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/WZ-lC2xK5CpmmlortXt9_z?domain=scot.us20.list-manage.com
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
“BBC predicted to ignore”
Aye….
NMRN
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Seems timely to add this: from ‘Misogyny – A Human Rights Issue’ (8 March 2022), the independent report from the Scottish Government’s Working Group on Misogyny and Criminal Justice led by Dame Helena Kennedy (https://www.gov.scot/publications/misogyny-human-rights-issue/ )
Helena Kennedy writes: “Scotland has proudly led the way in many areas concerning women’s rights and violence against women; the zero tolerance campaign on domestic abuse, for example, was initiated here. Scotland was at the fore and set the gold standard in recognising that coercive, emotional and financial control was a form of domestic abuse. The reforms recommended in this report are also innovative, change-making and radical.”
She adds: “It is admirable and right that Scotland holds the ambition of ridding itself of misogyny altogether. It is an ambition for serious social change. It will be no mean feat but making a strong start by creating new laws, specifically created for women, will be a clear declaration of intent. These recommendations are intended to reach deeper into the foundations of inequality. They are purposely framed to create a profound shake-up. There will undoubtedly be opposition from those who are wedded to the old order. But men and women who want a better society for themselves and for future generations will embrace the spirit if not the letter of this Report. Change has to come and society is ready for it.”
As a postscript Kennedy notes: “I was given free rein to choose my own Independent Working Group ..”
În her introduction to the report, Kennedy remarks in a section entitled ‘Laws Worth Fighting For’:
“The invitation (i.e. from the Scottish Government) to consider misogyny and the law might be considered by many as a hospital pass. Why would anyone step into this hostile territory? I have spent my life arguing for legal reform to create systems where people can be treated without discrimination and with equality and justice. Hatred always stems from seeing certain ‘others’ as ‘lesser’ beings.
“Since the 1970s I have fought for women’s rights but I have also fought against class bias and racism and religious bigotry and homophobia. I have been a strong advocate for justice for trans people, having acted in a number of cases involving the most egregious persecution of those who have changed their gender identity.
” I was leading counsel in the first trans case in an international court – the European Court of Justice; we won my client’s case of sex discrimination when she asserted her right to live as a woman. I have acted for a young trans woman who was raped, then ridiculed by police, and when she withdrew her complaint, knowing she would be humiliated in the witness box, she was prosecuted for perverting the course of justice and wasting police time. Trans people suffer unimaginable abuse and discrimination and that should not be minimised. Trans women face misogyny as well as prejudice about their change of gender.
“Disabled women, young and elderly women, LGBTI+ women and women of colour all face prejudice alongside misogyny. The law should seek to protect as many people as possible. I should also probably add that most of my clients over the years have actually been men and I have sought justice with vigour for them too.”
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Less forms to fill in. More straight forward and sympathetic. Additional needs have more support. Medical science advances in the last ten years. Still needs more training for teachers in additional needs. Modules put in teacher training courses. More diagnosis and support. People can get medicine and tablets to help people attain their full potential. Knowledge is key.
Scotland pays for all pensions and benefits in Scotland. Elderly women are the most in poverty. People vote for unionist political parties that impoverish their mothers, who gave them birth. Pensions 1/4 of the average income needs benefit top up, extra monies for administration.
Women who cohabit, the majority, do not have equal rights. They have to put in a claim, a 1/3, within a year. It can cost £thousands in legal fees and take years. There is little legal aid, that has to be paid back in any case. Women have to stay in abusive, unsafe places to keep a roof over their heads. In an England the Law has been changed so abused women get legal aid. So they do not lose their home.
Letting agencies, illegally, demand six months upfront rent + deposit. Even from people with good credit. A large sum to raise.
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