How the SNP worked behind the scenes to stop terrible Tory policies

Party conference season is a chance for political parties to speak directly to the public about their hopes and ambitions for the country.

The theme of the SNP’s conference is progress – both the progress we’ve made after a decade in government, and the progress we’re determined to keep making in the future.

The First Minister last month outlined our Programme for Government for the year ahead. It was wide-ranging and ambitious, looking to put Scotland at the forefront of technological change and the green revolution that will define the 21st century.

But we set out our ambitions in the context of continued Tory austerity and a Prime Minister determined to pursue a hard Brexit – tearing us out not just of the EU but out of the single market, at great risk to jobs, household incomes and our economy.

As the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities, I have the great responsibility of taking forward our plan to tackle poverty and inequality.

Tackling poverty is enormously important to me. As a social worker, and then as an elected representative, I’ve seen firsthand how poverty can shape lives and damage communities.

A child born into poverty can feel the impact for the rest of their lives – through their health, their educational outcomes, their professional opportunities and their life expectancy.

How a government responds to that challenge is deeply revealing. The stark contrast in approaches between the Scottish and UK governments underlines the importance of decisions being made in Scotland.

Take poverty targets as one example.

The Tories knew that, with their welfare cuts pushing families under the breadline, they’d never be able to meet their child poverty targets. So they scrapped them.

The SNP wouldn’t accept this – so we’ve brought forward our own Child Poverty Bill that will make Scotland the only part of the UK with statutory targets to reduce child poverty by 2030, with the targets more ambitious than those scrapped by the Tories.

This is a concrete example of the importance of Scotland having the power to make our own decisions – although when it comes to tackling poverty in the face of Conservative austerity, it can too often feel like we’re fighting with one hand tied behind our back.

Since 2013, the Scottish Government has spent more than ?100m a year to protect people from the worst aspects of Tory welfare cuts, such as effectively scrapping the bedroom tax.

But we’re doing more than just blunting the edges of the Tory axe. We’re making significant long-term investments to give Scotland’s children the best possible start in life – including the Best Start Grant, the Baby Box, a transformational increase in good-quality childcare provision, ensuring every child in the first three primary years is entitled to a healthy free school meal, and putting extra money and teachers into schools in the poorest areas.

Those actions are more important than ever as the Tories push on with their damaging austerity agenda.

The Tories’ flagship universal credit reform, a replacement for several existing benefits, which is being rolled out across the country, has been riddled with problems and has caused soaring rent arrears.

I was shocked to hear reports that, in some areas, landlords are advertising properties as “No UC” due to their experience with the system.

We’ve demanded a complete and immediate halt to the full-service roll out of universal credit in Scotland until these problems are fixed. But the UK Government seems determined to push on regardless of the appalling impact it’s having on people.

New social security powers have given us the ability to introduce some welcome flexibility into the universal credit system, making payments more frequent and giving tenants the option of having the housing element of universal credit payments made directly to landlords. We have now exercised those powers but they cannot fix the damage being inflicted by a six-week delay in receiving payments.

One of our commitments in the Programme for Government is to fund access to free sanitary products in schools, colleges and universities, as well as taking action to support those on low incomes, but not in education, in light of the findings of our current pilot scheme in Aberdeen.

This scheme will have a real effect on the lives of women and is a world first – directly tackling what can often be a hidden impact of poverty, where sanitary products become a financial burden.

This is a tale of two governments. Where we do have welfare powers, we’re determined to build a Scottish social security system based on dignity and respect, rather than the cut-first approach taken by the Tories.

Angela Constance is an SNP MSP and the Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities in Scotland