SNP COMMENT ON REPORT PUTTING SCOTS UNEMPLOYMENT AT 250,000

Commenting today (Sunday) on a report by Professor Steve Fothergill from Sheffield Hallam University for Scottish Enterprise which put the true number of unemployed in Scotland at 250,000, Mike Weir MP, SNP Shadow Work & Pensions Minister, and Jim Mather MSP, SNP Shadow Enterprise Minister, called upon the Government to admit the scale of unemployment in Scotland and work on providing jobs and adequate support for those in need.

Mike Weir MP said:

"This report is yet more evidence that the real problem surrounding incapacity benefit is not that people do not want to work but that, in
many areas, there is simply a lack of suitable jobs.

"You cannot look at incapacity benefit in isolation - it is pointless pressurising people to get off the benefit unless there are jobs for them to go to.

"Everyone agrees that getting people off benefit and into work is a good thing, provided that it is done with care and compassion.

"What Scotland needs is a government to adopt a joined up approach to the problem and ensure that there is also a greater effort at job
creation in areas with a high number of people on incapacity benefit."

Jim Mather added:

"This report implicitly makes the case for Scotland to have the responsibility to put our country on a more competitive footing with a much higher level of opportunity for well-paid employment.

"That responsibility means at least fiscal autonomy and to my mind independence. In such circumstances, it will be much easier to compete with other nations and be able to properly help people live fulfilling and rewarding lives.

"We totally agree with Professor Fothergill's view that those on incapacity benefit are not "malingerers". We know that most people on those payments do have genuine health problems.

"However, we believe that better prospects and higher earned incomes would have a hugely beneficial effect on many people and their families."