Scots Tory leader Russell Findlay right to call out SNP over Scotland's eye-watering benefits bill
Economic growth, not extra benefits, is the best way to address Scotland’s poverty problem
There was something slightly distasteful about Russell Findlay’s decision to brand the SNP’s social security system as a “fraudsters’ charter”. It may well be that the method for authorising payments could be improved but the vast majority of claimants are not criminals, simply poor people in need of help to put food on the table.
However, the Scottish Conservative leader’s main point – that benefits bill is “growing out of control” – is hard to deny, given the £7 billion annual cost is projected to increase to an eye-watering £10bn in just four years’ time. “One in every £7 is spent on social security – that’s unsustainable... Scotland cannot afford to keep spending on social security as we are,” Russell said.
This is a view shared, at least to a degree, by some on the left. Writing in this paper in September, former Labour minister Brian Wilson pointed out that the extra billions being spent on benefits in Scotland meant there was less money available for public services.
And he added: “It really would be something for Scotland to boast about if the benefits bill was coming down compared to the rest of the UK because we were gradually seeing signs of a better educated, more aspirational, healthier society...”
READ MORE: How unsustainable cost of Scotland's extra £2 billion in benefits payments is making poverty worse
Jobs that pay a decent wage
Despite claims that benefits ‘lift’ people out of poverty, those living a few pounds above the breadline are unlikely to feel that much better off than those just below it. And while welfare spending is necessary, it only alleviates poverty and does not tackle the root causes.
Only by boosting economic growth and creating more jobs that pay a decent wage will Scotland truly address poverty. As Wilson rightly pointed out, key to that goal is ensuring the education system produces a well-educated, highly skilled workforce which is kept healthy by an efficient and functional NHS.
Instead, on the SNP’s watch, both our formerly world-leading health service and once-renowned Scottish education have been reduced to a wretched state.
A ballooning benefits bill is nothing to be proud of. Quite the opposite, it is a key sign of the government’s failure to carry out one of its most fundamental responsibilities: to grow the economy.
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