Latest news with #ScottishAdultDisabilityPayment
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Scots civil servants offered £100k ‘cushy jobs' abroad while Holyrood faces ‘significant financial pressure'
'These cushy gigs are little more than taxpayer-funded platforms..." Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) CIVIL servants are being offered 'cushy' £100,000 pay packages to run Scottish Government offices in Denmark, Canada and China, we can reveal. The jobs are being advertised weeks after it emerged diplomats at the SNP ministers' international bases — dubbed 'pretend embassies' — have spent nearly £1million throwing 300 boozy parties. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Tories economy spokesman Murdo Fraser has hit out Credit: Alamy 2 Job adverts for 'Head of Scottish Government Office' roles are being advertised Credit: Getty Adverts for the 'Head of Scottish Government Office' roles promise successful applicants will have 'frequent contact' with ministers, business chiefs and cultural bigwigs. They even mention the cash crisis facing Holyrood — admitting it is a 'time of significant financial pressure for the Scottish Government'. Tories economy spokesman Murdo Fraser hit out: 'These cushy gigs are little more than taxpayer-funded platforms to bang the drum for independence abroad while Scotland's public services crumble. 'Scots want action on the state of the roads, NHS backlogs and failing schools — not more nationalist nonsense overseas. 'Hard-pressed Scots will be outraged the SNP is giving lucrative pay packages to pretend diplomats.' The jobs, in Copenhagen, Ottawa and Beijing, boast salaries of £74,480 to £85,964 with 28.9 per cent employer pension contributions boosting packages to around £100,000. Events held by the network of nine international offices include a ceilidh at a Brussels roundabout and a cheese and whisky celebration with the Swiss. External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson said: 'We will never apologise for overseas offices that help showcase Scotland as a country open for business. "Scotland is consistently ranked best place in the UK outside of London for overseas investment.' Major Scottish Construction Firm Faces Liquidation in Dalgety Bay We previously reported how an independent review of the Scottish disability payment has called for the benefit to be simplified and made more accessible. Applying for the 'compassionate' benefit has been branded as 'soul-destroying' as part of a review commissioned by the Scottish Government. A report said the Scottish Adult Disability Payment (ADP) process was described as 'much kinder' than the UK Personal Independence Payment (PIP). But claimants still found it 'inaccessible, complex and burdensome, causing some clients significant stress and anxiety'. Led by charity leader Edel Harris, the review calls for automatic entitlement to the benefit in some cases. The Conservatives said the system 'is satisfying no one' and the SNP's persistent claim that they can run things better than Westminister 'continue to ring hollow'.
Scottish Sun
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Calls to make £110-a-week payment from Scottish Government available to more people
HELPING HAND Calls to make £110-a-week payment from Scottish Government available to more people Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN independent review of the Scottish disability payment has called for the benefit to be simplified and made more accessible. Applying for the 'compassionate' benefit has been branded as 'soul-destroying' as part of a review commissioned by the Scottish Government. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 The review calls for automatic entitlement to the benefit in some cases Credit: Getty A report said the Scottish Adult Disability Payment (ADP) process was described as 'much kinder' than the UK Personal Independence Payment (PIP). But claimants still found it 'inaccessible, complex and burdensome, causing some clients significant stress and anxiety'. Led by charity leader Edel Harris, the review calls for automatic entitlement to the benefit in some cases. The Conservatives said the system 'is satisfying no one' and the SNP's persistent claim that they can run things better than Westminister 'continue to ring hollow'. One claimant told researchers she suffered mental health issues after she was initially refused extra support and had to appeal for additional benefits for her multiple sclerosis. She said: 'It's soul destroying having to relive all the trauma that you go through getting a diagnosis of MS.' Social Security Scotland was also described as worse than the UK Department of Work and Pensions in dealing with Citizens Advice and other agencies seeking help for their clients. The report said: 'Many people highlighted the fact that there were more barriers to obtaining consent to act on behalf of a third party with Social Security Scotland than they had experienced under the DWP system.' Decision making in Scotland is also more 'unpredictable' and 'inconsistent'. Citizens Advice Scotland said the found it 'difficult to clearly see rationale in some of the determination letters' while some of the decision-making was erratic at each stage of the process. Epilepsy Scotland said: 'The reasons for the decision are usually clear, however, they are also inconsistent. We are aware of decisions made with regard to some claimants with similar circumstances which can vary. With the inconsistent decision-making it leads to further additional workload through appeal processes.' More than 1 MILLION migrants are claiming Universal Credit in Britain – with majority unemployed The review also confirmed Scotland's more generous benefits system threatens to blow an even bigger hole in Scotland's budget. Scotland's benefits are expected to cost £2.1 billion more than Holyrood receives from the UK block grant within five years, including £770 million more on ADP. Sir Keir Starmer is working to cut the benefits bill south of the border in the face of stiff opposition from Labour backbenchers, including some who have been suspended for persistent insubordination. Harris said: 'If as a result of changes to PIP, spending is forecast to fall in real terms, and if ADP spend in Scotland stays the same, then the gap between the Block Grant and actual spend gets bigger. Quite how much bigger will become clearer once the scale of forecast savings from the UK welfare reforms are set out in more detail.' Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville dismissed these warning insisting she will not cut ADP no matter how big the deficit gets. She said: 'The Scottish Government's approach to providing social security is a compassionate one, based on dignity, fairness and respect, and I am very encouraged to read the feedback from disabled people that this has been reflected in their positive interactions with Social Security Scotland. 'While the UK Government seeks to make cuts to the vital support disabled people rely on, I want to make clear that we will not cut Adult Disability Payment. Instead, we will work to protect and enhance Scotland's social security system, improving on what we have achieved so far.' Tory social security spokesman Alexander Stewart said: 'As usual, this SNP boast that they would run things better continues to ring hollow. 'Social Security Scotland has been plagued with issues since its inception, and it's clear the current system is satisfying no one. 'The most vulnerable disabled Scots feel let down, there's a lack of support for those who can, and want to, get into work, and hard-pressed taxpayers are forking out a fortune on a ballooning benefits bill
