WELFARE: ALISON JOHNSTONE WELCOMES EXPERT GROUP REPORT
Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and a member of Holyrood's economy committee, is welcoming the findings of the Expert Working Group on Welfare.
The group's recommendations for an independent Scotland with control over welfare include re-establishing the link between benefits and the cost of living, scrapping the welfare cap, increasing the carer's allowance and ensuring women are not disadvantaged.
Alison Johnstone MSP said:
"I know from my own constituency work that welfare cuts are having an appalling impact on the most vulnerable in society. The expert group recommendations are in stark contrast to the Coalition's cruel, wrong-headed policies, which I see no sign of the main opposition party at Westminster changing.
"The welfare system shouldn't just be viewed as a safety net but as a way of improving everyone's quality of life. In the coming weeks the Green Yes campaign will outline ideas for removing the stigma associated with benefits, and ways that an independent Scottish welfare system could lift people into better paid, more secure jobs and recognise the important unpaid work carried out by carers."