Profit-making private firms won’t carry out benefit assessments.
(Article from scot.gov website)

Scotland’s new social security agency will put people before profits, with no private companies carrying out benefit assessments.

Social Security Minister, Jeane Freeman, firmly ruled this out in a statement to Parliament – where she also outlined the conclusion of the options appraisal process for the model of the new social security agency.

The new agency will have a central location as well as providing a local presence across Scotland so it is directly responsive to individual needs. A decision on where the main agency will be located will be made in the autumn.

It was also confirmed that the new agency will employ at least 1,500 staff – making it one of largest executive agencies of the Scottish Government.

Ms Freeman said: “One of our fundamental principles is that profit should never be a motive nor play any part in assessing or making decisions on people’s health and eligibility for benefits.

“We are building a system based on dignity and respect – this means an assessment process which isn’t demeaning or deliberately difficult.

“I am very clear that assessments should not be carried out by the private sector and I want to give people in Scotland this assurance as we take forward our new social security agency.

“It also means setting up an agency that has a local presence with a human face where people can go to get one-to-one support if required. This is very different to what exists at the moment.

“The new social security agency will be one of the largest executive agencies of the Scottish Government and will employ at least 1,500 staff by the time all devolved benefits are being delivered.

“Setting the new system up is a hugely complex task but a challenge that we relish and one that we are absolutely determined to get right. It is extremely important that we start how we mean to go on – by listening to people and seeking expert opinion to deliver an agency that respects people’s views and is sensitive and responsive to their different needs and requirements.”

Background

The Minister’s full statement to Parliament is available here: https://news.gov.scot/speeches-and-briefings/social-security-agency

(By Nicola Sturgeon, 20/04/17 – snp.org website)

This week it has become clear beyond doubt that, for Theresa May, party comes before country.

For months the Prime Minister has said that a snap, early election was, in her view, the last thing the country needed.

Now was not the time, she said, to be distracted from the job at hand.

But she has suddenly changed her mind – not for the good of the country – but for simple party advantage.

Her motive is clear. She knows that as the terms of her hard Brexit become clearer, the deep misgivings that so many people already have will increase and grow.

So she wants to act now to crush the parliamentary opposition that she faces. Labour’s self-inflicted weakness has presented the excuse.

Theresa May herself has said that politics is not a game, but by calling this election to suit her own party interests she is playing with fire.

No Prime Minister, not even Mrs Thatcher, has complained that there should not be robust debate in Parliament. That is a healthy and indeed necessary in any parliamentary democracy, but Theresa May does not seem willing to acknowledge any views other than hers.

That simply isn’t acceptable in a democracy. A virtual one party Tory state is a horrifying prospect – but given how weak Labour is, and the Lib Dem’s past record of propping up a Tory government, it is clear that only the SNP can offer strong and credible opposition in the House of Commons.

The SNP in this election will, as we always do, stand up for Scotland.

The 2015 election turned UK politics on its head, and over the last two years, SNP MPs have provided the only effective opposition to the Tories at Westminster.

On issues from austerity to wasting billions of pounds on new nuclear weapons, the SNP has been the only clear and consistent voice speaking up for Scotland’s interests.

It was the consistent campaigning of SNP MPs which saw the Scotland Bill, which is seeing new powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament strengthened – though they are still not strong enough.

Mhairi Black, the youngest MP in over 300 years, has campaigned tirelessly on the injustice of women’s pensions being slashed.

Eilidh Whiteford secured a significant victory as her Private Member’s Bill – which will require the UK Government to ratify the Istanbul Convention on violence against women – received the backing of MPs.

Alison Thewliss has led the campaign on the two-child tax credit limit and the disgusting rape clause, which will require women who have been raped to prove this to a professional in order to access financial support for their child.

Rather than stand up for women and families on low incomes, the Scottish Tories have thrown their full weight behind the family cap and the rape clause – a decision which will haunt them throughout this campaign.

And Angus Robertson has regularly been the only leader in the Commons willing and able to hold the Prime Minister to account.

So as we head into this election campaign, the choice facing the people of Scotland is clear.

A vote for the SNP is a vote to protect Scotland’s interests. If the thought of an unfettered Tory government worries you – as it should – a vote for the SNP can help secure a strong opposition that can hold them to account.

A vote for the SNP is also a vote to end austerity and for investment in our public services.

And it is a vote to ensure that the future of Scotland – the kind of country we are – will be decided, not at Westminster but in Scotland, by the Scottish people.

Make no mistake – if the SNP wins this election in Scotland, and the Tories don’t, then Theresa May’s attempt to block our mandate to hold another referendum when the time is right, will crumble to dust

The fact is, there is already a cast-iron mandate for holding an independence referendum.

The SNP was elected, with the largest vote share in the history of the Scottish Parliament, on an explicit commitment that the Scottish Parliament should be able to hold a referendum in exactly the circumstances in which we now find ourselves – so there is an electoral mandate, endorsed by the Scottish Parliament just last month.

This General Election won’t decide the question of whether or not Scotland becomes independent – but it can ensure that the choice in future is one for the people of Scotland to make, not Westminster.

The desperate attempts by the Prime Minister to run from this mandate shows that she knows the damage she is doing in Scotland.

And she is running scared of TV debates in this election because she knows how badly her hypocrisy, contradictions and U-turns will be exposed.

Over the next few weeks we will ensure that the people of Scotland are clear about the choices open to them.

The simple fact is that there is no cost free Tory vote in this election.

We have already seen the damage the Tories have done since 2010, first with no majority of their own, and then with just a small majority.

Every Tory vote risks a strengthened Tory government and we should be in no doubt what that would mean.

It would mean not just the hardest possible Brexit, but also further austerity and deeper cuts.

It would mean damage to our public services and more pain for the vulnerable. And it would mean a rightwards shift in the governance of the UK that just a few years ago, UKIP could scarcely have dreamed of.

In short, the Tories would think they could do anything they want to Scotland and get away with it.

That is why it is so important that Scotland continues to have a strong voice against this Tory Government.

The SNP intend to make sure that in this election, the interests of Scotland come first.

ARTICLE SOURCE: https://www.snp.org/nicola_sturgeon_we_ll_stand_up_for_scotland

(By Nicola Sturgeon, 19/04/17 – snp website)

I’m joined here today by the SNP MPs who, for the past two years, have been the real and only effective opposition to the Conservatives in the House of Commons.

We are making clear today our intention to win this election in Scotland and for Scotland. Now, more than ever, Scotland needs strong voices.

Yesterday, it became clear beyond doubt that, for Theresa May, party comes before country. For months the Prime Minister has said that a snap, early election was, in her view, the last thing the country needed. Now was not the time, she said, to be distracted from the job at hand.

But yesterday, she changed her mind – not for the good of the country – but for simple party advantage. Her motive is clear. She knows that as the terms of her hard Brexit become clearer, the deep misgivings that so many people already have will increase and grow. So she wants to act now to crush the parliamentary opposition that she faces. Labour’s self-inflicted weakness has presented the excuse.

But the SNP has a very different plan.

Scotland’s voice will not be silenced.

We have seen the damage the Tories have done with no majority of their own and then with a small majority. We should be in no doubt what a strengthened Tory government would mean.

It would mean not just the hardest possible Brexit, but also further austerity and deeper cuts. It would mean damage to our public services and more pain for the vulnerable. And it would mean a rightwards shift in the governance of the UK that just a few years ago, UKIP could scarcely have dreamed of.

So the SNP in this election will – as we always do – stand up for Scotland.

A vote for the SNP is a vote to protect Scotland’s interests. Only the SNP stands between Scotland and an increasingly hard-line Tory government.

It is a vote to end austerity and for investment in our public services.

And it is a vote to ensure that the future of Scotland – the kind of country we are – will be decided, not at Westminster but in Scotland, by the Scottish people.

Make no mistake, if the SNP wins this election in Scotland – and the Tories don’t – then Theresa May’s attempt to block our mandate to hold another referendum when the time is right, will crumble to dust.

This is an election that has been called in the narrow party interests of the Tories. That’s why, though we won’t stand in its way, we will not endorse the Prime Minister’s opportunism.

But we intend to make sure that in this election, the interests of Scotland come first.

ARTICLE SOURCE: https://www.snp.org/nicola_sturgeon_statement_at_westminster_on_the_general_election

By Nicola Sturgeon, 18/04/17 (snp.org)

This announcement is one of the most extraordinary u-turns in recent political history, and it shows that Theresa May is once again putting the interests of her party ahead of those of the country.

She is clearly betting that the Tories can win a bigger majority in England given the utter disarray in the Labour Party.

That makes it all the more important that Scotland is protected from a Tory Party which now sees the chance of grabbing control of government for many years to come and moving the UK further to the right – forcing through a hard Brexit and imposing deeper cuts in the process.

That means that this will be – more than ever before – an election about standing up for Scotland, in the face of a right-wing, austerity obsessed Tory government with no mandate in Scotland but which now thinks it can do whatever it wants and get away with it.

In terms of Scotland, this move is a huge political miscalculation by the Prime Minister.

It will once again give people the opportunity to reject the Tories’ narrow, divisive agenda, as well as reinforcing the democratic mandate which already exists for giving the people of Scotland a choice on their future.

The SNP will always put the people of Scotland first – and between now and June 8th we will work harder than ever to retain the trust of the people.

Article Source: https://www.snp.org/nicola_sturgeon_statement_on_the_general_election_announcement

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has today written to the Prime Minister to begin early discussions to allow a referendum on independence to take place.

It comes after the Scottish Parliament voted to give the Scottish Government a mandate for a Section 30 order under the Scotland Act 1998 to enable a referendum.

The full text of the letter is below.

Dear Theresa

When we met in Glasgow on Monday, I wished you well for the negotiations that lie ahead now that you have formally invoked Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. I want to reiterate those good wishes now.

I very much hope that you succeed in realising your ambitions for the terms of the UK’s future relationship with the EU. A good deal for the UK is clearly in Scotland’s interests whatever constitutional future we choose.

It is for that reason that I intend that the Scottish Government will play a full and constructive role in securing such an outcome.

I expressed my frustration on Monday that the process leading up to the invoking of Article 50 had failed to involve the devolved administrations in any meaningful way – a view that I know is shared by the First Minister of Wales.

Far from securing a UK wide approach ahead of invoking Article 50 – as you committed to do last July – the voices of the devolved administrations were largely ignored and all attempts at compromise rejected, in most cases with no prior consultation.

As we move forward into a new phase, we need to agree a more direct role and influence for the devolved administrations, reflecting the key interests that are at stake for all of us.

However, whatever outcome is secured, it seems inevitable that it will remove the UK, not just from the EU, but also from the single market. As you are aware, that is not an outcome that the people of Scotland voted for. It is also an outcome that will have significant implications for our economy, society and place in the world.

In these very changed circumstances, the people of Scotland must have the right to choose our own future – in short, to exercise our right of self determination.

Indeed I noted the importance you attached to the principle of self determination in your letter to President Tusk.

As you are aware, the Scottish Parliament has now determined by a clear majority that there should be an independence referendum. The purpose of such a referendum is to give people in Scotland the choice of following the UK out of the EU and single market on the terms you negotiate, or becoming an independent country, able to chart our own course and build a genuine partnership of equals with the other nations of the UK. A copy of the motion passed by Parliament on 28 March 2017 is attached.

The decision of the Scottish Parliament has been made in line with the tradition of popular sovereignty in Scotland – that the people of Scotland should be able to determine the form of government most suited to their needs – and with the clear commitment in the manifesto on which my government was re-elected last May.

I am therefore writing to begin early discussions between our governments to agree an Order under section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 that would enable a referendum to be legislated for by the Scottish Parliament.

I have, of course, noted and carefully considered your public position. However, it seems that we are in agreement on the essential matters.

For example we agree that now is not the time for a referendum.

You confirmed to me on Monday, and repeated in your letter invoking Article 50, that you intend the terms of both the UK’s exit from the EU and of a future trade deal to be agreed before March 2019 and in time for ratification by other member states – in other words, between the autumn of next year and the spring of 2019. As you are aware, this is the timescale endorsed by the Scottish Parliament for a referendum.

As I have said previously, if the timetable you have set out changes, we will require to consider the implications for the timing of a referendum. However, it seems reasonable at this stage to work on the basis of your stated timetable.

We are also in agreement that – unlike the EU referendum – the choice must be an informed one. That means that both the terms of Brexit and the implications and opportunities of independence must be clear in advance of the referendum.

It is also worth noting that the clear precedent of the 2012 Edinburgh Agreement should make reaching agreement on this occasion a relatively straightforward process – addressing any concern you may have that discussions would be time consuming for your government when they are also preparing for EU negotiations.

In light of the above, there appears to be no rational reason for you to stand in the way of the will of the Scottish Parliament and I hope you will not do so.

However, in anticipation of your refusal to enter into discussions at this stage, it is important for me to be clear about my position.

It is my firm view that the mandate of the Scottish Parliament must be respected and progressed. The question is not if, but how.

I hope that will be by constructive discussion between our governments. However, if that is not yet possible, I will set out to the Scottish Parliament the steps I intend to take to ensure that progress is made towards a referendum.

Again, I wish you well for all that lies ahead and stand ready to discuss both a section 30 order and the Scottish Government’s role in securing the best outcome for all parts of the UK.

I am copying this letter to the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament and to Bruce Crawford, Convener of the Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee.

Nicola Sturgeon

ARTICLE SOURCE: https://news.gov.scot/news/section-30-letter

Holyrood powers “must not be diminished”. (by gov.scot)

The Great Repeal Bill exposes the empty promises of new competences for the Scottish Parliament as a result of Brexit, Michael Russell said today as he warned that Brexit must not see any existing competences or powers removed from the Scottish Parliament.

The Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe said the Great Repeal Bill, published today, risks undermining the devolution settlement.

Mr Russell said:

“It remains deeply disappointing that the UK Government is ploughing ahead with leaving the European Union and ending our 40 year relationship with our nearest neighbours and the world’s largest market.

“This white paper for this Brexit bill leaves many important questions unanswered, such as the nature of the powers for the Scottish Parliament, and the need for the consent of the Scottish Parliament under the Sewel Convention. The UK Government now needs work closely with the Scottish Government on the detail of the bill as it develops.

“There are no new powers proposed for the parliament beyond those required to fix the mess that will be caused by Brexit, exposing what have so far been empty promises from the UK Government.

“In all other areas where powers already belong to the Scottish Parliament the white paper continues to threaten that in areas such as agriculture, fisheries and the environment, powers will be taken by the UK Government after Brexit.

“For the UK government to seek to impose legislative frameworks on these areas would be to take the unprecedented step of extending its powers over Scotland and must not take place. The Scottish Parliament’s competences must not be diminished as a result of Brexit.

“The UK Government continues to assert that the UK is a partnership of four nations. It needs to now prove that it truly believes this by entering into meaningful discussions as the process of withdrawing from the EU gets underway.

“Overall, it appears that the UK Government is set to be consumed by legislating for Brexit at the expense of all other priorities for years to come.”

ARTICLE SOURCE: https://news.gov.scot/news/great-repeal-bill