I AM writing to you to draw people’s attention to the Scottish Government’s requests for more powers for Holyrood, when they are not using fully, or not at all, the ones they already have, for example, on the changeover from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

It is allowing the DWP to assess people who are aged 65, 66, 67, despite PIP being a benefit for people aged 16 to 64. It is aware of the stress, hardship and ordeal this is putting people through, and yet despite several letters to the First Minister and Jeane Freeman, it will not use the power it has held since May 2017 to alleviate these very cruel sanctions that claimants are forced to go through.

The Scottish Government is coming out with the excuse that it is setting up a Scottish social security department (an excellent idea) but nothing about this problem will be done for two years, after which time everyone on this benefit will be forced off it by Atos and Capita, etc, which a cynic could argue could be in the Scottish Government’s interest.

The Westminster Government has been warned twice by the United Nations about their cruel assessment and up to now have been doing nothing to rectify this cruel anomaly, and as stated previously, so also have the Scottish Government.

So is it too much to ask of the Scottish Government to do their job properly? To help the disabled and poorer members of our societies and protect them from the bully-boy tactics of Tory politicians in London and unfeeling workers of Atos and Capita who it seems are being told to clear everyone off benefits, even people with limbs missing, colostomy bags, heart problems etc.

It is a total disgrace and about time the Scottish Government realised this, and did something to halt these sanctions at once, until they had sorted it all by their own social security set-up, and stopped (up to now) paying lip service and promising the moon while delivering nothing. A lot of voters are watching and waiting to see what will be done as soon as possible.

Despite it being stated in many UK Government descriptions of PIP that it is a benefit for people from 16 to 64 they are using a “get-out” clause or addendum that states that people born before April 1947 will remain on DLA, anyone born after this will be forced to go through an assessment, even if they are over pensionable age.

What needs to be done is the DWP should be told by the Scottish Government these assessments must be ended now, until it has looked into them itself.
S Simpson
Address Supplied

THIS letter is addressed to all Scots intending or able to vote in any future independence referendum, irrespective of party affiliation or political sympathy.

The history of Scotland, particularly post 1945, has not established that we have the optimum position achievable.

Neither can it be asserted that the responsibility for that does not lie mainly with Unionist governments at Westminster, none of whom have shown any effective, fair and identifiable means to change it for the better. I refer to the whole of Scottish life; industrial, cultural, sporting and social.

We are told that government is the enabler for us to enjoy the results of its achievements. Westminster has shown itself to be disappointingly inadequate in that role, a failure shared by all previous Unionist administrations.

The many disastrous and costly policies, poor political judgement, gaffes, bickering within their ranks, dithering over Brexit, determination to prioritise party interest over national, not to mention a marked disdain for all opposition opinion, characterise Unionist “achievement “ and need no further elaboration. It is only too apparent that their primary purpose is rather the interests and survival of their parties, the reality being that an independent Scotland, governed democratically, would provide all parties with the opportunities to realise their ambitions in Scotland.

It may well be that the Unionist parties remain collectively and individually reluctant to challenge the SNP on a level playing field. Remove the Unionist cries of “no to indyref2” from their campaigns in the June General Election and little else (and nothing positive) remains.
J Hamilton
Address supplied