Social security

The Scottish Conservatives believe that by protecting and empowering the most vulnerable, we can create a fairer Scotland that works for all levels of society. We believe that the Scottish Government’s powers over welfare should be used to target specific groups within society, helping those who need it while complementing the benefits already provided by the broad shoulders of the UK Government.

The SNP are more concerned about playing politics than helping people. The SNP would rather see Scotland’s welfare powers used to make a political point and have spent over £650 million setting up their new social security agency – money which could have been spent on claimants but has instead gone on administration costs.

We believe that creating jobs and getting more people into work is the best way to poverty. Over a third of children in poverty live in households who can’t get work, so delivering a growing economy with full employment is key to tackling child poverty. Taking an employment focused approach would complement other Scottish Conservative policies to tackle child poverty, including free school breakfasts and lunches for all primary school children, and our commitment to double the Scottish Child Payment by the end of this Parliament.

The Scottish Conservatives are committed to ending rough sleeping by 2026. With the homelessness rate in Scotland being twice that of England and Wales, more must be done to tackle this problem which is a blight on modern Scotland. With over 5,000 adults sleeping rough at least once a year, and the number of children living in temporary accommodation being the highest since records began, this issue is a national scandal which requires immediate action. We would deliver a national Housing First programme, which would emphasise the importance of having a settled home so that people have the security they need to fully engage with other forms of support and begin to turn their lives around.

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