MP SAYS WORK AND PENSIONS SECRETARY MUST USE HER POWER TO ACT ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT FAILURES SNP LETTER TO NEW SECRETARY OF STATE DEMANDS URGENT ACTION

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The SNP have issued a letter to Amber Rudd challenging her to take action to prevent people falling into further austerity as she begins her first week as newly-appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

The SNP letter calls on the Secretary of State to:

  • Reverse her Department’s punitive benefit cuts, including the £4.7bn cut due next year from the benefit freeze, benefit cap and cuts to ESA.
  • Scrap the abhorrent two child cap and rape clause
  • Halt the roll-out of Universal Credit until it is urgently fixed.
  • Boost wages and lift the minimum wage to a real living wage.
  • Take action to finally support women born in the 1950s who have been affected by the acceleration of the increase in the state pension age.

Commenting, Argyll and Bute MP and Social Inclusion spokesperson  said:
“This is a new opportunity for the government to address the well documented concerns by charities and organisations which is causing so much misery to so many people up and down the country.  The time for listening is over;  now is the time to act.

He went on to say,

“Any movement to mitigate the worst of the problems of Universal Credit roll out is welcome, but I fear that despite a change in face, it will be more of the same as we have just seen this week in the House of Commons when Ms Rudd refused to accept the United Nations damning conclusion that poverty is the political choice of this Tory government”.