Spending more on benefits would be ‘wrong approach', Jackie Baillie says
Jackie Baillie has defended the UK Government's £5 billion welfare cuts, saying the projected rise in the benefits bill is 'not sustainable'.
The deputy leader of Scottish Labour said it would be the 'wrong approach' for the UK Government to pay more while not ensuring people get back into work.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced £5 billion worth of cuts earlier this month, mostly from a reduction in support for those on incapacity or disability benefits.
These were late compounded by further cuts in Chancellor Rachel Reeves's spring statement. Three million people are expected to be impacted.
Speaking on BBC Scotland's Sunday Show, Ms Baillie said it was important for the Government to encourage people into work.
She said: 'If you look at the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), they're saying currently personal independence payment (Pip) accounts and disability benefits account for £50 billion each year.
'They're projecting, in the next five years that will grow to £75 billion. So if you were that's not sustainable.'
Asked if she would vote for the measures if she was an MP, she said: 'I would support getting people into work. I think that is the right objective.
'Spending an extra £75 billion, if we don't do anything about getting people back into work, is the wrong approach. That's not sustainable.
'Getting people back into work is key. None of these changes take place until November 2026. There is time to focus and an additional £1 billion is going towards employment support, which frankly, the SNP have cut.'
The OBR has predicted the welfare reforms could push another 250,000 people into poverty, including 50,000 children.
But Ms Baillie told the programme those figures did not take into account whether those people would take up employment.
'The OBR modelled the impact of the changes,' she said. 'What they didn't model was the impact of people going into employment.
'And that needs to be seen as the counterbalance to what's going on.'
Appearing earlier on the same programme, Scotland's Health Secretary described the welfare cuts as a 'big mistake' and an 'error'.
Neil Gray accused Labour of conflating Pip with out-of-work benefits.
Pip is designed to help disabled people who face extra living costs due to their disability, regardless of their work status. In Scotland, this benefit is being replaced by the Adult Disability Payment.
Mr Gray said: 'I think that was the big mistake the Chancellor made, to seek to settle and balance the books on the backs of disabled people who are more likely to be in poverty, are more likely to be furthest from the labour market.
'You're better to provide that support to them to enter the labour market, rather than take it away.'
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