Thousands of Scots on benefits could get almost £30 extra a week
The idea was blasted by the Scottish Tories
BANK BOOST Thousands of Scots on benefits could get almost £30 extra a week – find out more
ADULTS on benefits in Scotland could get a top-up of at least £29 a week under a £2 billion-a-year plan from experts commissioned by SNP ministers.
The proposals have been floated by the Scottish Government's Minimum Income Guarantee Expert Group - set up to explore the idea of handing every adult a basic amount of money regardless of income.
Advertisement
1
Thousands of Scots on benefits could pocket almost £30 extra a week
Credit: Getty
And in papers published today, John Swinney was also told it would cost almost £7billion to 'eliminate child poverty' altogether through mass benefits handouts.
But the idea was blasted by the Scottish Tories who said the plans were 'simply unaffordable'.
Social security spokeswoman Liz Smith added: 'These eye-watering, additional costs on the benefits bill are simply unaffordable.
'Economic forecasters have already exposed the big black hole in the SNP Scottish Government's welfare budget given the existing circumstances never mind additional pressures.'
Advertisement
Experts floated the Scottish Adult Payment as a way to get closer to a minimum income guarantee in the short term.
It suggests single adults over 25 could receive £29 a week, those under 25 £48 a week, and couples over 25 £57 a week, or £87 if one person in the couple is under 25.
Together with the Scottish Child Payment at its current rate for those with children, taxpayers would be forced to fork out £1.957billion to meet the cost of the plan.
Ministers were told the plans could lift 170,000 Scots out of relative poverty.
Advertisement
But costs could spiral further after the group's February meeting minutes show it agreed to call for the Scottish Child Payment to be doubled from to £55 a week.
And a reformed, higher, Scottish Child Payment linked to earnings which would cost £3.2billion to taxpayers, but is not within Holyrood's powers.
Martin Lewis issues urgent warning to hundreds of thousands of pensioners missing out on 'superpower' benefit worth £3,900 a year
Experts said the planned Scottish Adult Payment 'would discourage work' and require major cuts or tax hikes.
David Phillips, associate director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said income tax would have to be raised by 3.4 percentage points across the board to meet the cost.
Advertisement
He said: 'The main thing about all these proposals is their significant costs. The options cost £2 billion or £3 billion, even assuming no behavioural response.
'That would require significant cuts to public service spending or increases to taxation.'
In a separate document, ministers were told they could eliminate relative child poverty altogether by handing out billions to lower-income Scots so they met minimum living standards.
Those with three or more children would be best off according to an official Scottish Government document, which estimates families would receive an average of £15,900 per year.
Advertisement
And the plans would essentially eliminate child poverty, reducing it by 18 percentage points to leave just a handful of Scots suffering from a lack of cash.
The document said: 'Moving all households up to 100 per cent of the Minimum Income Standard from their current levels of income, including unclaimed benefit entitlements, would reduce relative child poverty by an estimated 13 percentage points at a cost of £6.9bn in 2024-25.
'This would effectively amount to eliminating relative child poverty, albeit starting from a position of full take up of benefits.
'Overall relative poverty would reduce by 12 percentage points with a small minority of households remaining in poverty.'
Advertisement
In 2020 at the height of the Covid pandemic, Nicola Sturgeon said she believed lockdown 'strengthens the case' for a minimum income.
She said: 'I have long been interested in the concept but the current situation strengthens the case for it immeasurably.
'It would need the UK Government's cooperation but hopefully we can have a serious discussion.'
The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
41 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
STEPHEN DAISLEY: Swinney has no spark, no vision and no clue. If he were to quit now he'd leave no legacy ... just consequences
Reports of a plot to replace John Swinney as SNP leader prompt an obvious question: with whom? The First Minister's pitch when he took over the leadership was that he would be Mr Stability, a safe pair of hands who could move the party on from the Humza Yousaf disaster, factional disagreements over gender and independence strategy, and the never-ending police investigation. Now, there's a lot to be said for stability. After all, 'May you live in interesting times' is intended as a curse, not a blessing. But whose interests are served by Swinneyean 'stability'? Certainly not taxpayers who want to see their money spent wisely on the improvement of public services. Swinney, like his recent predecessors, is adept at raking money in and pouring it back out but the record on outcomes leaves a lot to be desired. The finance secretary who gutted funding for local government. The education secretary who tried to fix an exams disaster by downgrading the results of working-class children. The Covid recovery secretary who produced no recovery in hospitals or on high streets. The first minister who, over a long and undistinguished ministerial career, has had a hand in every calamity to issue from St Andrew's House, from the educational attainment gap to the unlawful named persons scheme, the Ferguson Marine ferries to the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, the secrecy that bedevilled the Alex Salmond inquiry to the brazen deletion of ministerial messages from the Covid pandemic. Internal rivals might be displeased with his absolutely honking performance in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, losing a safe SNP seat to a Labour party that he said wasn't even in the race, but if anyone is entitled to vent about the man's performance it is the general public. They thought they were getting a political handyman, someone who would roll up his sleeves and fix the breaks, cracks, squeaks and grumbles across government. Thirteen months later, the same faults remain. Decrepitude has become the norm. Which brings us back to the 'who' question. Let's say the plotters give Swinney his jotters. Who follows him into Bute House? Stephen Flynn is a name insiders keep bringing up, and I keep advising them to put right back down. Flynn is a wide boy with a restless mouth and a smug manner and zero in the way of executive experience. He is a less qualified Humza Yousaf. Angus Robertson? Cold, aloof, and unrelatable. If Scottish elections were held only in Stockbridge and Kelvinbridge, he'd romp home, but the farther you get from a university, a Waitrose or a book festival, the further his appeal diminishes. Kate Forbes could make a decent fist of it but the green-haired brigade would sooner see Reform in government than allow a Bible-believing Christian to lead the party. Not that any of this matters, of course. The problem is the SNP itself, its failure to govern and its shifting priorities. Scotland will not flourish under Swinney. It will not flourish under Flynn or anyone else touted as a possible successor. The SNP is not a party that exists to make Scotland flourish; it exists to make Scotland independent. Yet the Nationalists are no closer today to achieving either than they were 18 years ago when they entered government. Scotland did not flourish under Alex Salmond, whose energies were directed to the SNP's raison d'etre. It was of little consolation to those who hoped for economic and social progress during those first seven years, but Salmond spoke often of independence as the necessary condition for transforming the country into a powerhouse of prosperity, innovation and fairness. Unionists could dislike his objectives and his personality while recognising that he had ambition for the country, however misguided. Scotland is still not flourishing but nor is it making much progress towards independence. Under the post-Salmond leadership of the SNP, the unholy trinity of Nicola Sturgeon, Humza Yousaf and John Swinney, the journey has not merely stalled, the destination has changed. The immediate objective is not tending, growing or marshalling the independence movement, but entrenching and expanding their own ruling caste, a self-perpetuating elite whose purpose is not social or constitutional change but the acquisition of power and status for their own sake. They are in office to be in office and every decision is taken with the maintenance of office in mind. They are embedding themselves as the new Scottish establishment, helpfully sporting yellow rather than red rosettes so they may be distinguished from the old establishment, and nothing - not the improvement of education, nor the recovery of the NHS, nor even independence - will get in their way. That establishment was on full display last week in John Swinney's mini reshuffle, an ingathering of the inconsequential, an anointing of the adequate. It's hard to be disappointed in the calibre of ministers, for how do you work up any kind of feeling towards a Tom Arthur or a Màiri McAllan? There is nothing there to oppose because there is nothing there. At the head of this committee of beige sits Swinney, the beigest man of all.. No spark, no passion, no vision, no clue. Tomorrow, the First Minister will address the Scotland 2050 conference in Edinburgh where he will urge us to reject 'another 25 years of Westminster mismanagement' and instead 'look around us at our immense potential today, and have the confidence that we can do better with the full powers of independence'. The party that proclaimed 'Scotland free by 93', and then 'Nationalist heaven in 2007', now wants its followers to believe independence will be nifty in 2050. At some point, the party faithful will have to accept that they are not being led but strung along. The SNP will not deliver a booming economy and radically improved public services to ordinary voters, and nor will it, in its current incarnation, deliver independence to those for whom the constitution comes before all else. The SNP will deliver only for the nomenklatura in whose grips it has been held for more than a decade now. That ruling elite has its priorities but they are not those of the general public nor, for the most part, of the rank and file of the independence movement. They are nationalists who put themselves before the nation. Why remove John Swinney as leader when he is the ideal figurehead of today's SNP? A man with a lanyard, indistinguishable in ideology or political purpose from all the other men and women with lanyards, no more or less likely to grow the economy, close the attainment gap, meet A&E targets or secure another referendum on independence. If Swinney were to go now, he would leave no legacy, only consequences, fashioned by his failings but borne by others. The young people denied a quality, life-changing education. The local government services cut and the people who relied upon them abandoned. The hollowed out town centres, the boarded up shops and businesses, the pervasive economic despair and societal gloom of a country where venturing beyond the major cities will bring you face to face with communities that have been given up on for so long they have given up on themselves. A first minister worthy of the office would set about tackling these social ailments, but John Swinney is not worthy of the office, and nor are any of those who would be likely to succeed him.
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘That's a great spot,' cry locals as brand new ice cream shop opens in major Scots city
The team announced the news on social media today SO SWEET 'That's a great spot,' cry locals as brand new ice cream shop opens in major Scots city Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A BRAND new ice cream shop has opened in a major Scottish city - and locals are delighted. The Little Parlour officially opened the doors of its brand new branch in Stockbridge, Edinburgh, today. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 The Little Parlour opened a new shop in Stockbridge today Credit: FACEBOOK: THE LITTLE PARLOUR 4 It welcomed customers for the first time this afternoon Credit: FACEBOOK: THE LITTLE PARLOUR 4 It comes after the success of their store in South Queensferry Credit: FACEBOOK: THE LITTLE PARLOUR The popular sweet treat's second store welcomed its first customers this afternoon after taking over a huge unit. The much-loved shop moved into the unit after it was previously home to a barber shop. Bosses of O A Goll put the unit up on the market after it had been in their family for generations. It first opened in 1896 and has been passed down through the family, but it went up for sale earlier this year. But fans of The Little Parlour were thrilled to find out it was moving into the space, with many congratulating them on grabbing the "great spot". The ice cream parlour already has a successful store in South Queensferry, which comes with incredible views over the Firth of Forth. There's a great load of history with this place, and it's been lovely to meet with so many people this morning and chat about the shop Bosses at The Little Parlour It has been a staple on the high street for years, and over time, it has built up a huge number of fans and followers. Customers often rave about the ice cream shop online, with many impressed with its indulgent marshmallow and Oreo cookie ice creams. While others gush over their delicious fruity blood orange, mango and passion fruit flavours. Bosses took to social media to share the exciting news about the store opening today. Popular coffee shop to open new branch in trendy Glasgow neighbourhood They explained that there are still a "few bits to be done" as they posted snaps of the almost-complete store on Facebook. But they said they "just couldn't wait" any longer to welcome new customers. The post read: "Aaaaand we are open! Please pop by to see the new shop - 28 Raeburn Place, Stockbridge. "There are still a few bits to be done, but we just couldn't wait to open the door and welcome you! "There's a great load of history with this place, and it's been lovely to meet with so many people this morning and chat about the shop. "We will see you there soon!" Followers flocked to the comments as they congratulated the team on their big opening and wished them well with the new store. 'PRIME POSITION' BEFORE the unit was home to The Little Parlour, it was operated by the barbar shop O A Goll. The space was out on the market and Rightmove was advertising it at £2,083 pcm. Their ad said: "The subjects comprise a self-contained retail unit arranged over the ground and basement levels of a traditional single-storey building held under a flat roof. "The premises boast a prominent glazed frontage and are accessed directly from Raeburn Place, benefitting from the extensive footfall in the area. Internally, the subjects are currently fitted out to facilitate its previous use as a barber shop. "The ground floor currently provides an open-plan space suitable for multiple retail uses whilst the basement can be excellently utilised for additional storage space. "Stockbridge is one of the most affluent suburbs of Edinburgh, situated less than one mile from the city centre. Raeburn Place is the main commercial thoroughfare in the Stockbridge area. "The subjects occupy a prime position towards the east end of Raeburn Place. Stockbridge offers a high end mix of both local and national retailers and charity shops as well as a number of thriving independent restaurants, cafés and bars." One person said: "That's great news, well done and lots of luck with your new addition." Another added: "Huge congratulations!! That's a great spot!" Someone else wrote: "Wishing you all the best for your newest venture. Look forward to visiting soon". And a fourth posted: "Fantabulous news. Well done. I'm sure the new 'Banana Bridges' flavour will be flying off the scoops!" While a fifth chimed in: "Exciting times!"
The Herald Scotland
5 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
SNP's nuclear stance costing Scotland jobs, says UK minister
While energy is largely reserved to the UK Government, the Scottish Government effectively has a veto on new nuclear power developments through planning regulations. Last week, in her Spending Review, Rachel Reeves unveiled a multi-billion-pound investment programme in new nuclear energy. The Chancellor said £2.5 billion of the £8.3bn set aside for Great British Energy would be redirected to support new nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors, and a new plant in the south of England. READ MORE: In an interview with BBC Scotland's Sunday Show, Mr Shanks was asked about why the money had been redirected, particularly given the party's manifesto made no mention of nuclear, but instead focussed on onshore wind, solar, and hydro power. 'Well, it's not an exclusive list, because there's a lot of other clean energy technologies,' Mr Shanks said. 'Nuclear is part of our energy mix. 'I'm not going to make any apologies for the government investing in nuclear where thousands of highly skilled jobs can be delivered, including in Scotland if it wasn't for the ideological position of the SNP to block new nuclear, could be delivering those well paid skilled jobs here in Scotland. 'They turned their face against that, and they will have to answer for that.' He added: 'The broader point here is Great British Energy is all about harnessing the power of the public purse to invest not just in clean power projects directly but supply chains that drive them. 'Because unlike the previous government, we want to see those well paid, industrialised jobs coming alongside us, not towing in offshore wind and switching it on, but building it in this country and getting the manufacturing jobs that go with it. "That's how we deliver the jobs of the future.' The Herald revealed at the weekend that unions are calling on the Scottish Government to end its longstanding resistance to new nuclear power. Louise Gilmour, from GMB Scotland, has written to Energy Minister Gillian Martin calling for an urgent rethink. She said: 'Amidst broken promises on a green jobs revolution, the Scottish Government cannot afford to scoff at the offering of nuclear energy on the table. An offer that would in large part be funded by the UK Government. The ban against new nuclear – especially SMRs – must be lifted.' Responding to Ms Gilmour's comments, a Scottish Government spokesperson told The Herald: 'The Scottish Government is focused on supporting growth and creating jobs by capitalising on Scotland's immense renewable energy capacity rather than expensive new nuclear energy which takes decades to build, creates toxic waste which is difficult and costly to dispose of and does not generate power at a cost that will bring down energy bills.' READ MORE: Meanwhile, during the interview with the BBC, Mr Shanks was pressed on the impact of oil and gas job losses in Aberdeen. Companies in the north east have blamed the UK Government's Energy Profits Levy, which means the effective rate of tax on oil and gas companies is 78%. Mr Shanks said: 'Every single job loss is hugely distressing for the individuals and for their families and communities. 'I do not for a second discount the impact that job losses have, but I do not think that is an entirely fair assessment, because yes, there have been job losses recently announced, but there have also been thousands of jobs created.' He argued that transition involved movement from one part of the energy sector to another, and that support for workers was crucial. 'That is why we announced incredibly quickly that passporting support—where if you are an offshore oil and gas worker doing a particular job and you could do the same job in offshore wind, you should not have to requalify or have your skills reassessed. 'You should be able to move straight into that job. That is something the previous government talked about for a long time. We delivered it.' READ MORE: The Labour Energy Minister also said he was 'hopeful' that an announcement on investment in Grangemouth will be made soon. Mr Shanks said more than 80 potential investors had come forward since the UK Government pledged £200 million for the site. The Government is seeking a further £600m in private investment in the area, following the closure of Scotland's last oil refinery. Mr Shanks said the investment would help provide a 'long-term, sustainable future' for the site. Petroineos, the joint venture between INEOS and PetroChina, which owns the 100-year-old refinery, first announced plans to close in November 2023. They said the plant's future as an import terminal would 'require significantly fewer people to operate' and that there would need to be a 'net reduction of approximately 400 roles over the next two years.' Mr Shanks said the Government was engaging with businesses on new projects for the area. 'We have had some really positive meetings around potential investors,' he said. 'In fact, more than 80 potential investors have come forward. Scottish Enterprise is driving forward due diligence on that. There are a number of really credible projects that we are developing at the moment. 'We hope we will have some really positive announcements to make soon.' Mr Shanks said the 'unprecedented' £200m investment from the National Wealth Fund would help 'create the jobs of the future' while ensuring long-term investment security. He added: 'I am not involved in the due diligence, as you would not expect, but there are some really exciting, viable projects coming forward that will deliver jobs in Grangemouth long into the future.' Last week, Jan Robertson, Grangemouth director for Scottish Enterprise, said she had received a 'mixture of inquiries' from businesses—some interested in the site itself and others with 'a good opportunity to become projects in the relatively near term.' 'What I mean by that is the next three to four years,' she told Holyrood's Economy and Fair Work Committee. 'Our approach at the moment is very much working with those and working as closely and quickly as we can to make the progress that we want to see in Grangemouth.' Ms Martin told the committee the 'door is not closed' to companies looking to work at the site, and said Petroineos had also received approaches. 'We could look back five years and start pointing fingers, but the most important thing is that in the last year—actually the last six months—Project Willow and the taskforce have moved things along in a way that has been swift, agile and focused,' she said. 'I am feeling so much more confident than I did this time last year in the prospects for that site.'
