A SENIOR MSP has welcomed the intervention of a leading Catholic cleric in the debate about changes to benefits.
Michael McMahon MSP, head of the Scottish Government's welfare reform committee, said he hoped the comments by Archbishop of Glasgow Philip Tartaglia put pressure on the Coalition Government at Westminster to reverse the reforms, in particular the use of French multinational Atos to carry out health assessments.
The head of Scotland's largest public-sector union also welcomed Archbishop Tartaglia's comments, calling for the Atos sponsorship deal with the 2014 Commonwealth Games to be scrapped.
In a letter to Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, Scotland's leading Catholic churchman said he had been "made aware of cases of terminally ill people being summoned for assessments" and claiming "people's human dignity is being trampled upon". Archbishop Tartaglia also raised the role of Atos as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Mr McMahon said: "His intervention is timely and I join with the Church in urging the Coalition Government to rethink their plans, put people before profits and end these harmful benefit cuts."
Mike Kirby, Unison's Scottish Secretary, said: "This deal is something that very many people believe is an affront after the way Atos has treated sick and disabled people."
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