KATE Forbes has accused the UK Government of driving "a coach and horses through the devolution settlement" as she launched a fierce broadside at Scottish Labour MPs following a cut to the Winter Fuel Payment.
On Wednesday, the Scottish Government said it had been left with "no choice" but to make the payments means-tested after Labour's cuts had a direct impact on money passed north of the Border to fund the newly-devolved benefit.
The Deputy First Minister and Economy Secretary hit out at the “disrespectful and damaging” decisions of the UK Government, which she said were taken without consultation with the Scottish Government.
Ministers at Holyrood had initially hoped the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment – which is being introduced in Scotland to replace the UK’s Winter Fuel Payment – would be a universal benefit.
Forbes (below) said the Scottish Government has been forced to limit payments because “the Chancellor announced this cut to the Winter Fuel Payment just weeks before the Scottish Parliament is due to take on responsibility for the payment – and without any consultation with the Scottish Government”.
She added: “Devolving a policy weeks after cutting its budget by almost 90% is disrespectful to everybody involved in shaping the new Scottish policy.
“Not only does it drive a coach and horses through the devolution settlement, it ignores the disproportionate importance of this payment to households in Scotland, who face harsher winters and higher fuel costs.
“Given we are already facing the most challenging financial circumstances in the history of the Scottish Parliament, Scotland has no choice but to bear the brunt of Labour’s cut to the Winter Fuel Payment.”
Forbes said the Scottish Government and “many others” had urged the UK to “rethink its approach”, with the decision to end the payment for wealthier pensioners said to have reduced the cash Holyrood receives by £160 million.
She said the UK Labour Government had “not changed course”, as she accused Scottish Labour MPs of putting their party before the country on the issue.
Forbes said: “There is an eerie silence from Labour politicians north of the Border, who would have been the first and loudest to condemn the Scottish Government if the roles were reversed.
“It is particularly galling to hear no condemnation from Labour MPs who represent areas with the highest proportion of fuel poverty.
“This is their first test, and as we feared, they have put party before country – despite promising otherwise during the election.”
She said the SNP had warned during the General Election campaign “that Labour were not being straight with people about the cuts they would have to make if they took power”.
But she insisted: “It should not be the case that pensioners in a country as energy-rich as Scotland are forced to bear the brunt of spending decisions taken at Westminster.
“People voted for a change of government at Westminster – but Labour’s approach to devolving the Winter Fuel Payment without the original budget associated with it is disrespectful and damaging.”
'We had no choice'
Finance Secretary Shona Robison said she “shared the frustration of everyone”, but that the Scottish Government had “no choice” but to cut the payment.
Robison (below) said: “Let me be blunt. We could not find up to £160m that has now been withdrawn by the UK Labour government that we were relying on in order to deliver what would have been a broader universal winter payment.
“That really frustrates me, I have to say, because I know about the levels of fuel poverty in our country, in an energy rich country, both energy rich in terms of oil and gas, but also in terms of green energy.
“And yet, because of the constraints of devolution and this unexpected cut, we're not able to deliver what we wanted to deliver.
“So I share the frustration of everyone in this regard, but we had no choice."
'Westminster only concerned about serving interests of billionaire friends'
Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens have called the Scottish Government's decision "disastrous".
Maggie Chapman (below), the party's equality spokesperson, said: “This is a disastrous decision for older people who are being forced to choose between heating and eating by the SNP government.
“Means testing this benefit will likely lead to less money being distributed to fewer people. Universalism in our social security is not just about ensuring no one slips through the cracks, but also about focusing on distributing support, not wasting resources determining if someone is worthy of support or not.
“Scotland is a wealthy country, so we need to ensure we are doing whatever we can to distribute this wealth fairly so people can afford to live in warm, dry homes with food on the table. Scotland already has the most progressive tax system in the UK, thanks to the Scottish Greens, but more can be done.
“While fairly taxing income is crucial, it misses the vast majority of the money that is accumulated by the super-rich every year. That is why taking action to tax their overall wealth is so important.
“Unfortunately, Westminster's two parties hold the most important powers and levers, and they are only interested in serving the interests of their corporate donors and multibillionaire friends.”
Charity Age Scotland said it had “desperately hoped” that Scotland’s approach to the payment “could have looked more generous than the UK Government’s new, and meagre, approach”.
Adam Stachura, policy director at Age Scotland, said: “It’s infuritating that huge numbers of older people will miss out on the vital Winter Fuel Payment when it is devolved to Scotland.
“We recognise the financial challenge the Scottish Government would face to make up the shortfall to keep the payment universal, but we desperately hoped there could be a more effective delivery of this payment and that it could have looked more generous than the UK Government’s new, and meagre, approach.
“At minimum, a quarter of a million pensioners in Scotland on the lowest incomes or living in fuel poverty will no longer receive this vital financial support over the winter months, while hundreds of thousands more on modest incomes are going to struggle with their energy bills even more than normal as a result.
“This brutal decision by the UK Government was made too fast, cuts too deep and its impact will be severe. It’s important that they rethink this move, as it has a huge impact on the devolution of social security and the needs of Scottish pensioners who live in some of the coldest homes in the UK.”
