Working People’s Finances: Government Policy — House of Commons, 2021-09-21
Topic: Macroeconomics
Alison Emily Thewliss (Scottish National Party, Centre-left): The hon. Member is perfectly right to point that out and to refer to the words of Torsten Bell. He came to the Treasury Committee to give evidence about some of the things that we are facing in the months ahead. Many constituents will just not be able to cope with this. They will become more indebted, they will struggle to get by, and they will find it difficult to get back out of that debt, get on with their lives and be productive members of society. This is a significant crisis, which this Government are ignoring and making worse by their inaction This Tory Government have already created the perfect storm: a cost-of-living crisis atop an already weak and stagnant economy. Citizens Advice Scotland found that more than 1.4 million people in Scotland ran out of money before payday at least once in the last year. Sarah Arnold, senior economist at the New Economics Foundation, found that 2.5 million working families on low incomes will lose £1,290 a year because of the double whammy of the cut to universal credit and the increase in national insurance contributions. That is utterly unjustifiable It may not mean much to those on the Government Benches, but that is an enormous amount of money to many people across this country, which cannot be made up through a few hours’ work, as the Work and Pensions Secretary appears to believe. It is the difference between just getting by and not coping at all, between being able to put food on the table or relying on the food bank, between keeping the lights and the heating on or disconnecting from the power supply I am an honorary vice-president of Energy Action Scotland—I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests—which has found that one in five households with a prepayment meter regularly self-disconnects because they simply cannot afford to top it up. Of those households, 88% contain a child or someone with health issues. Those on prepayment meters will struggle the very most in the months ahead—they always do—and this UK Government do absolutely nothing to support them. The stress of watching the meter eat what little money has been put in it is an experience that I am sure few on the Government Benches will understand, but I have had constituents shivering, living in one room under blankets and duvets, because no matter how much money they put in that meter, they cannot keep their home warm. There is a significant impact on older people, carers and people with disabilities, whom this UK Tory Government have often completely ignored. That is a group whose energy bills are higher. My constituent Rob McDowall is among many already worrying about how to keep warm this winter. Like Citizens Advice Scotland, he is advising people to seek assistance and advice right now. While I fully support attempts to seek advice, this UK Tory Government should take their responsibilities seriously too Energy costs will increase more in Scotland due to our geography. This is a life and death issue. Living in a cold home causes illness, and Energy Action Scotland has found that there are around 2,000 excess deaths in Scotland each winter as a result. That is a scandal in energy-rich Scotland, but it is a reflection of how broken the energy system is—a system entirely reserved to Westminster. Around 25% of energy bills is the cost of UK Government levies and policy choices, as well as VAT. That disproportionately hits those on low and middle incomes. The Treasury must do something now to alleviate that burden. That is in its hands.