We must design social security with individuals and families at its heart
Speaking in this afternoon's "Creating a Fairer Scotland" debate at Holyrood, Alison Johnstone, Health & Social Security spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Lothian, urged action on a range of issues to create a more equal Scotland.
Had the Green amendment to the government motion been selected by the Presiding Officer, MSPs would have been invited to formally support rent controls, end to fuel poverty, give councils power to buy land cheaply for housebuilding, support paid and unpaid carers and bring in a progressive tax system.
Alison Johnstone, Health & Social Security spokesperson for the Scottish Greens and MSP for Lothian, said:
"Greens will work with all parties who recognise the need and opportunity to use Holyrood's powers to create a more equal Scotland. Many people who are eligible to claim for financial assistance that may make a real difference to their quality of life, to their ability to live with dignity, aren’t doing so. We must work to remove the stigma that too many people feel.
"Tory austerity is gendered and UNICEF ranks child-wellbeing in the UK as worse than all our near neighbours, yet the UK Government has cut pregnancy and child-related benefits. We must use Holyrood's powers to mitigate the worst impacts and design a social security system that puts individuals and families at its heart."
Full text of Alison Johnstone's amendment, not selected by the Presiding Officer:
(Taking Scotland Forward - Creating a Fairer Scotland), leave out from “to build” to end and insert "for nobody to be forced into a poverty wage, to control rents, end fuel poverty and build thousands more affordable homes by providing local authorities with powers to acquire land for less, to support paid and unpaid carers, to empower local authorities, communities and people, and to reduce poverty and inequalities in Scotland with a more progressive tax system that raises tax fairly and funds public services".