Letters: Universal Credit poses a threat to council income

Westminster's ­Universal Credit is being rolled out in Edinburgh and claimants may have to wait up to five weeks for payment.
Former DWP Secretary Esther McVey. Picture: PA WireFormer DWP Secretary Esther McVey. Picture: PA Wire
Former DWP Secretary Esther McVey. Picture: PA Wire

In Aberdeen, where Labour is in coalition with the Tories, 80 per cent of council tenants now on Universal Credit are behind on rent payments.

This will damage our council finances much more than any ­compensation for missed garden ­rubbish collections (Scott Arthur, ­Letters, 27 November).

Read More
Shirley Ann-Somerville: Universal Credit will exact a high price in Edinburgh
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Despite the SNP spending £400 million mitigating the worst aspects of Tory austerity, Labour keeps demanding more Scottish government money is spent on Westminster responsibilities, thus diverting money from devolved areas. The latest is Jeremy Corbyn demanding that the SNP scrap the Universal Credit two-child cap. Labour would have some credibility on this issue if they hadn’t abstained on that Welfare Bill.

The Scottish Government has limited taxation powers and since 2013 Westminster has cut Scotland’s budget by 1.8 per cent whereas ­council revenue budgets have been cut by 0.8 per cent, which is less than half, not ten times more, as claimed by Cllr Arthur.

As the United Nations envoy on poverty said, it is outrageous that the Scottish Government needs to spend resources to shield people from UK Government policies.

Mary Thomas, Watson Crescent, Edinburgh.

Join our Facebook group Our Edinburgh to share images and news from and around the Capital