THERE is much to like in the welfare reform recommendations of the Scottish Government's expert group.
It was commissioned to look at how welfare might be provided in Scotland in the event of independence and came forward with a series of proposals that, if implemented, would certainly bring more compassion and fairness to the system.
Who could argue with the common sense approach of increasing benefits in line with the Consumer Prices Index or raising carer's allowance to the same level as Jobseeker's Allowance?
Scrapping the so-called bedroom tax, a move also backed by Labour, would no doubt prove popular, since it is now clear this policy was ill-conceived from the start and has not only failed to save the substantial sums it was intended to, but has caused hardship, anxiety and a big surge in rent arrears.
There is also now an indisputable case for increasing the minimum wage; in fact, a rare consensus has broken out among all the main parties on the point. The argument is now over the level at which it should be set. It is due to rise to £6.50 from £6.31 in October and Chancellor George Osborne wants to see it rise further, to £7; Labour leader Ed Miliband believes it should be linked to average earnings and will consult business leaders before setting an exact figure; now this panel of experts suggests the Scottish Government should go much further and set it at the same level as the living wage, £7.65.
But is all this affordable? The group said their recommendations would not have a significant impact on spending on welfare, and suggest its minimum wage proposal would raise an extra £280million in tax, but any firm plans by the SNP arising from this will have to be carefully costed, since alarm bells will ring among those who already doubt the party's ability to afford all its promised post-independence goodies, a problem underlined yesterday when the Institute For Fiscal Studies warned the Government of an independent Scotland would likely have to raise taxes or cut services to pay for its promises. Ministers are vulnerable to attacks like that of Labour's Jackie Baillie, who accuses them of "promising everyone, everything".
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has backed several of the reforms, but the Scottish Government knows if its version of an independent Scotland starts to sound too much like Never Neverland, voter trust in its ability to deliver it will disintegrate.
Even so, these proposals are right in spirit and should help guide changes to welfare policy, whether by the future Government of an independent Scotland or by UK ministers and a devolved Scottish Government. The discussion over further devolution is now underway, and the Conservatives have already proposed housing benefit and attendance allowance should be devolved. Arguably, so should carer's allowance.
Whether independent or not, Scotland needs a welfare system that treats benefits claimants and those struggling to make ends meet with dignity and this report has some useful ideas for how that might be better achieved.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article