Ensure that the new social security agency works closely with other agencies and services, including the Home Office, housing, health and social care, and childcare Devolved entitlements Introduce automatic individual payments of Universal Credit Ensure that carers in employment and education, and older carers are entitled to the new carers benefit Work towards the introduction of a Citizen’s Income in Scotland Create a Destitution Fund for people with insecure immigration status or ‘no recourse to public funds’ Set eligibility for the Best Start Grant as widely as possible and allow women to apply for at least six months after the birth of their child Abolish or significantly reduce the use of medical assessments, and increase the number of lifetime awards granted to disabled people 3. WORKSHOP DISCUSSIONS 3.1 SCOTTISH WOMEN’S AID ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS Scottish Aid (SWA) held three focus groups with women in Kilmarnock (27 th September) and Edinburgh (6th and 11th October). Women were supported to attend these meetings by East Ayrshire, Edinburgh and Shakti Women’s Aid. All the women who participated in the sessions had experience of using the social security system. In all three sessions common shared themes emerged from the discussions covered by women. Some affected women in general and others specifically related to women as EU migrants or with insecure immigration status, women with disabilities, women with children, women in same sex relationships. Women taking part in the discussion often raised issues that highlighted their multiple and intersecting identities and the consequent multiple ways in which they felt the benefits system failed them or discriminated against them. The thematic commonality across all three sessions reflected the systemic inequality of the social security system and of women’s lives. The following note highlights the recurring themes from the three sessions. Principles The opening discussion concentrated on the experiences of women in using the benefits system and what a social security system based on dignity and respect should look like for women.
rights based, easy to understand and apply for, with the opportunity for face to face contact in the process non-judgemental, flexible, responsive to women’s additional caring responsibilities and valuing of women’s unpaid work provide a safety net to ensure all women have the means to survive and look after their children regardless of their immigration status knowledgeable of and responsive to domestic abuse and the impact on women and children’s health and wellbeing consistent in delivery, timescales and in taking responsibility for its mistakes and correcting them Universal Credit flexibilities All the women who took part in the sessions were unaware that Universal Credit is paid as a single household payment. They were horrified that this was how benefits will now be paid to couples and families. There was consensus that the payment would go to the male partner as he would feel entitled to the payment as “head of the household.” They described this as; “a really bad idea”, “as dangerous” a “recipe for disaster” and “a really scary thought.” In these discussions women highlighted how control of money was integral to their means of exerting control over themselves and their children. They saw this as giving men a way to much more easily control family finances and enabling of domestic abuse. In their experience the money would not be spent on maintaining the family and home instead women would end up having to repay the debts and loans that would result. “When there’s domestic abuse there’s no sharing. I had to provide him with receipts for everything I spent. I would be too scared to ask for money or ask him what the money was spent on.” “I was given a weekly budget, if I overspent then I had to ask to borrow off him and then pay him back out of the next week’s budget” Women were seriously concerned about the impact this would have on their children and how they would be able to adequately feed, clothe and provide for their children. “children will be really hungry” “there will be more child poverty where money is controlled, lots of kids won’t get what they need” “We’ll be more reliant on foodbanks as women won’t have money to pay for food – do you have to wait until it’s too late?”