The Scotland Office should give Holyrood its reported £150 million fund earmarked for anti-poverty measures to offset the cut to the winter fuel payment, the SNP’s Westminster leader has said.
MPs will vote on Tuesday to strip the benefit from all but the UK’s poorest pensioners in what could be the toughest day for Sir Keir Starmer so far in his tenure as Prime Minister.
The move has been criticised by trade unions and opposition parties – as well as some within Labour – with the SNP stressing the impact of the issue in Scotland.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the move in July, which she said was needed as part of measures to fill what she called a £22 billion “black hole” in the country’s finances.
The Scottish Government has delayed plans to provide a similar universal benefit this winter through the devolved social security system due to a lack of funding, citing a loss of £160 million through the decision taken by the UK Government.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Tuesday, Stephen Flynn suggested funding destined for the Scotland Office could be used to fund the benefit.
Some £150 million is reported to be available from the department for local councils to tackle poverty.
“We could, of course, see the Secretary of State for Scotland, who appears to have been awarded £150 million from the Treasury, use that funding to fill the gap which is being created by his own Prime Minister of Scotland, which is going to impact pensioners in Scotland,” he said.
“I’m sure Ian Murray would be more than happy to give up the funding, which has been made available to the Scotland Office, as I understand it, which is almost entirely comparable with the winter fuel payment cut that’s coming to pensioners in Scotland.”
Read More
Speaking to the BBC later, newly-elected Labour MP Blair McDougall said his “jaw hit the ground” when he heard Mr Flynn’s suggestion.
“What he is suggesting there is to take £150 million out of anti-poverty measures to restore the winter fuel payment to the wealthiest pensioners,” he said.
“I perfectly understand why some people find this a very difficult vote today, but when Stephen Flynn votes with the Conservatives today, it’s clear that what he is saying is that he wants to remove £150 million from poverty measures to restore money to wealthier pensioners.”
Mr McDougall went on to say he was “not pretending this is an easy choice”, but was necessary due to public finances being “catastrophic”.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
