Nobody should be destitute in a modern Scotland
The Scottish Government must do more to end destitution for people living under the thumb of the hostile environment, says Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman.
The Green MSP will use a Member’s Business Debate today to call on the Scottish Government to go further in its work to end destitution.
Ms Chapman will call for commitments to five tangible actions to end destitution, including: widening access to universal services and benefits, expanding support for Fair Way Scotland - a partnership that provides advice and accommodation for people with restricted or uncertain eligibility to public funds, creating a new Scottish crisis or hardship grant, and increasing funding for housing, immigration and asylum legal aid.
Ms Chapman said:
“Right now in Scotland, thousands of people who live in dire conditions are shut out of services and left struggling. Without support, they regularly go cold and hungry. Many are forced into precarious work and dangerous situations to make ends meet, often ending up homelessness.
“We cannot undo all of the damage being done by Westminster, but we have the power to alleviate some of these challenges and change these lives for the better. Unfortunately the Scottish Government isn’t doing nearly enough.
“If we don’t intervene, the cycle of destitution, suffering and exploitation will simply continue.”
No Recourse to Public Funds is a condition attached to work, family and study visas which restricts access to a lot of aspects of social security, including Universal Credit and child benefit and a range of other support like homelessness assistance.
Ms Chapman added:
“The No Recourse to Public Funds policy is yet another arm of the UK government’s hostile and racist immigration system. We already know how to mitigate the cruelty of this policy - so we cannot continue to justify blocking people’s access to crucial services in times of desperate need.
“We have universal human rights obligations to help our fellow humans, irrespective of immigration status. Our governments must go further to support those who risk fleeing from one hostile environment to simply enter another, cloaked as a sanctuary.
“Tragically, people in Scotland are dying from destitution as the doors remain closed to those in need. Our government can, and must, widen access to universal services to include people who are stranded by the widest inequality and cut off by the deepest destitution.”