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Child Poverty in Scotland

I am grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s intervention. Yes, we are disappointed and urge the Scottish National party Government to review that part of their policy. To assist the take-up of credits and benefits and help people find work, we would replace Jobcentre Plus with a new first steps agency—a single, one-stop shop for all benefit and tax credit claims. The front-line staff should be equipped with basic knowledge of the tax credits and benefits system so that they can assess whether a household is claiming its full entitlement and give advice. The new agency would also engage with the private and voluntary sectors to provide high quality, tailored, back-to-work support. Jobcentres have an important role, but they must be located in local communities, where the staff understand local circumstances, not in large call centres. In the past four years, the number of staff in jobcentres in my constituency has almost halved as jobs have been transferred to call centres. The pattern has been repeated throughout Scotland. That is a double blow to jobs in rural areas. First, it removes Government jobs and, secondly, it takes away valuable local knowledge, which could help local people find jobs. To many jobseekers, a phone call to a call centre is no substitute for a face-to-face discussion with someone with local knowledge. That is particularly true in constituencies such as mine, where the islands create special circumstances that those in call centres often simply cannot understand. The Government should reverse their misguided policy. They should transfer Government jobs to rural areas, not take them away.