NAC SPENDS £323,000 MITIGATING UNIVERSAL CREDIT

Patricia Gibson MP has renewed calls for a halt to the roll out Universal Credit (UC) after it was revealed that councils are spending millions of pounds attempting to undo the damage of this failed Tory policy.

A series of Freedom of Information requests revealed that Scottish local authorities have spent £24,289,135 to mitigate the harmful effects of UC, which has faced a huge backlash since its introduction. North Ayrshire Council (NAC) has spent £323,000.

UC has been beset by problems since its rollout. Thousands of children face hardship because their parents are forced to wait more than five weeks for their first benefit payment.

Patricia Gibson said:

“Universal Credit is a broken system, leaving people destitute, driving families into poverty and forcing many in North Ayrshire and across Scotland to rely on foodbanks.

“Locally, NAC has been left picking up the pieces, being forced to shell out £323,000.

“Money is being diverted away from key public services to mitigate the damage caused by this appalling change imposed by the UK Government. That is fundamentally wrong.

“The solution is to halt the rollout of UC and fix this broken policy. Or better still, put all welfare powers in the hands of The Scottish Parliament, so that we can build a social security system which puts dignity, fairness and respect at its heart.”

ENDS