An SNP MP has proposed changes to the UK Government’s welfare policy, to prevent women being “forced to choose between poverty and abuse”.
Dr Philippa Whitford has published a Private Members’ Bill aimed at addressing concerns around single household payments for Universal Credit.
The SNP’s health spokeswoman said her Universal Credit (Application, Advice Assistance) Bill would help protect women from financial abuse through the introduction of routine split payments.
Universal Credit, which is currently being rolled out across the country, is replacing six other benefits with a single monthly payment.
Dr Whitford said the policy of issuing the payment into one bank account per household had led to fears it could keep women, and to a lesser extent men, trapped in abusive relationships.
Paying the combined benefits of a couple into a single bank account could also prevent funds reaching their intended beneficiaries, such as partners and children, she said.
“It is astonishing that women in the UK may be having to choose between poverty and abuse because of Tory welfare policy,” she said.
“The UK Government claim their alternative payment arrangements, which allow abused partners to apply for split payments in exceptional circumstances, deals with this issue, but few women are aware of this option and 85% of domestic abuse survivors who spoke to the charity Women’s Aid said that the act of applying for split payments would anger their partner and make the abuse worse.
“Financial dependence and control isolates women from their friends, family and support networks, so I am calling on the UK Government to make split payments the default.
“The Tories should not persist with policies which put vulnerable women and children in danger, making it easier for them to be financially deprived or abused when a simple amendment could provide protection instead.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “Domestic abuse in any form is completely unacceptable, and anyone suffering from it should seek immediate and appropriate help.
“Our benefits system is safe to use, and alternative payment arrangements, including splitting payments between two members of the household, can be made on Universal Credit.”
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel