In the fast-paced slanging match currently playing out on the Scottish referendum, it would be easy to overlook an important development in Westminster on the UK Welfare Reform Bill.
The House of Lords voted this week against three core elements of the Bill; removal of exemptions for people disabled from childhood, lack of concessions for those recovering from cancer and the time-limiting of contributory Employment and Support Allowance. This adds to their rejection last year of housing benefit reductions for people with spare bedrooms which would have hit many people with disability support needs. This has been an important victory and vindication for third sector campaigners in Scotland and across the UK.
In Scotland last year, disability and anti-poverty campaigners campaigned intensely to highlight the negative impact from the UK Welfare Reform Bill in late 2011. This led to the Scottish Parliament withholding legislative consent for key provisions of the Bill, demonstrating a rejection of the impact of the Bill’s provision on Scotland’s most vulnerable, and a considerable show of strength and purpose from Scotland’s third sector.
Certainly many in our sector feel the UK Government started with an admirable premise to reform and simplify what has become an overly bureaucratic and unfit for purpose UK welfare system. However, the approach that emerged from the Coalition’s plans – to maximize spending savings within every reform at the expense of basic human dignity has been anathema to much of our sector, and so it seems for many in the House of Lords.
Withholding consent was an unprecedented move by the Scottish Parliament and sent an important message, not just in Scotland, but to campaigners and politicians across the UK. It is quite possible that this action could have contributed in no small way to emboldening peers to rebel against the Commons. With the healthcare reforms in England moving into their endgame, many more MPs are now likely to refocus their attention on welfare reform. Looking at Scotland, they can now see a position which supports reform without attacking society’s most vulnerable.
Could this be the tipping point for the Bill?
If the Welfare Reform Bill were to cave in, the job would be far from over. The sector needs to start thinking now about what kind of welfare system would work for the people and communities it supports. We need a system that supports people to contribute rather than sanctioning them for being unable to do so. Moreover, we are now uniquely placed to have this debate as part of a much wider conversation about the future of our society and economy in Scotland.
Tags: referendum, Welfare Reform Bill
