Evidence library

First in a series of three reports on welfare ?reform? by Dr Jim McCormick, one of Scotland?s leading public policy experts. The report identifies ways to help mitigate the devastating effects of the welfare cuts and the UK Government?s Universal Credit policy. Key concerns and potential solutions: - With the Westminster agreement that Universal Credit and most working-age benefits will be pegged at below inflation increases (1%) , poverty levels for working-age people and for families with children are likely to considerably surpass previous projections - Universal Credit is an all-or-nothing reform. Getting it wrong means people will face delays, errors or cuts to their sole source of income without support from other benefits. Serious design flaws must be addressed (see table on p11 ). A single payment into households rather than individual benefits raises questions about resource-sharing and risks for vulnerable women in particular - Investing more in advice and support services, as well as income maximisation programmes, can show a return on investment of at least 10:1. Expanding work in this area should be considered as a minimum mitigation response - A new Financial Security Change Fund could help to maximise available resources and extend effective approaches more widely. It should be established with matching contributions from the financial services sector in Scotland, for example to support the take-up of simple bank accounts and from domestic energy suppliers to ensure customers who currently pay the most are switched over to the cheapest tariffs.