THE UK's social security system has been branded “consciously cruel” by campaigners who say it “does not stand up to the international human rights frameworks”.
Human rights charity Amnesty International has published a report which argues the social security system across the UK “faces challenges in aligning with international human rights standards”.
It said: “The result is a system that, by design, perpetuates the deprivation of living standards for those reliant on it, subjecting them to orchestrated stigma and a systematic erosion of their dignity.”
Neil Cowan, the Scotland director for Amnesty International UK, said: “Lives are being ruined by a system that is consciously cruel – it erodes dignity by design and violates people’s human rights daily.”
As part of the Social Insecurity report, Amnesty International spoke to more than 700 benefits claimants – including 74 in Scotland.
Isla, from the Scottish Borders who is a carer for her son, told them: “I am barely holding on financially. I always feel just one step away from rock bottom.”
The woman, who is in her 60s, added: “I didn’t choose to be a carer and struggle on social security, but when my son was born, I didn’t have a choice.
“I work tirelessly providing 24-hour care for my son, but because it’s unpaid it’s not considered actual work. It should be.
“I worry about what will happen to my son when I’m no longer around.
“The poorest in society have become easy targets. It feels like people are being pitted against each other, rather than addressing the real issues.”
Amnesty International said “broken” social security needs a “systems overhaul”, calling for an independent Social Security Commission to be set up to achieve this.
But the campaign group also demanded the UK Government “urgently reverse harmful social security cuts, sanctions and caps”, including the two-child limit on some benefits.
It said legal frameworks should be put in place to “ensure everyone’s basic human rights to food, housing, and dignity are protected in law”.
The Scottish Government has pledged to mitigate the two-child benefit cap in Scotland from next year.
But Cowan stressed ministers at Holyrood also need to “learn lessons from this report by doing more to ensure that the Scottish social security system provides people with the support they need”.
He made clear this should include increasing the flagship Scottish Child Payment for low-income families so it “goes further in driving down poverty across Scotland”.
He added: “The UK social security system is impenetrable, inadequate, and for some completely inaccessible. It is forcing people across Scotland and the rest of the UK to make impossible choices that not one of us should have to make.
“Rather than cutting support for disabled people while maintaining some of the system’s most atrocious policies like the two-child limit, UK ministers should be overhauling the system so that it prevents and reduces poverty, while protecting people’s rights.
“We need a landmark, independent Social Security Commission with statutory powers to build a UK social security system that loosens, rather than tightens, the grip of poverty on people’s lives.
“It must be rooted in dignity and human rights and designed by and for the people. This must protect us all – be that today or in the future where we all may need it.”
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The irresponsible and damaging welfare cuts, upon which the UK Government is utterly intent, aim to balance the books by targeting the most vulnerable.
“These changes are being rushed through without proper public consultation.
“In Scotland, we have deliberately built a radically different system to tackle the worst impacts of UK Government cuts, based on dignity, fairness and respect.
“Our policies are having to work harder than ever to make a difference, against a backdrop of UK Government decision making.
“I am calling on the UK Government to abandon its rushed and harmful reforms.
“It is not too late for them to change course, and follow the Scottish Government’s lead in protecting and enhancing the social security safety net rather than wantonly dismantling it and stigmatising those who need its support.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “We inherited a fundamentally broken welfare system which does not work for the people it is supposed to support.
“That’s why, as we secure Britain’s future through our Plan for Change, our reforms to health and disability benefits will ensure the welfare system is there to protect those who need it most.
“We are also unlocking opportunities for sick and disabled people through our £1bn employment support package, and we’ve also increased the Living Wage, boosted benefits, and extended the Household Support Fund for another year to help low-incomes families with the cost of essentials, as well as protecting pensioners through our commitment to the triple lock.”
