ON the day that Prime Minister Theresa May announced a U-turn over the controversial 55p per minute Universal Credit helpline, a Tory-led Scottish council has revealed plans to scrap its own specialist telephone help service that aids welfare claimants.
Scottish Borders Council (SBC) has been led by a Conservative-independent coalition since the May elections and, facing budget cuts, officials recommended that claimants be directed to a general number and that the helpline be scrapped.
In addition, two advisers’ posts were to be axed, but the Macmillan charity has stepped in to keep the jobs going after next March when SBC will stop funding the service,
That will come just as Universal Credit is rolled out across the Borders with requests for advice and help set to soar as they have done in the pilot areas for the scheme.
Local MSP Christine Grahame said: “I would call on Scottish Borders Council to reconsider this decision. The people who rely on this service are the most vulnerable in our communities and often have nowhere else to go for help.
“Under any circumstances this is a false economy but with the UK Government rolling out Universal Credit it will be even more so.
“People are going to have no money to pay their rents and other bills, and it is at this time that they will need someone on the end of a phone line to offer independent help and advice.
“These cutbacks by the council will end up costing them.”
The news was given to local support organisations in a recent letter from head of customer services Jenni Craig, who stated that the welfare benefits service, homelessness service and customer services are currently under review, and that telephone enquiries about benefits are being “streamlined”.
The Borders Voluntary Care Voice organisation has hit out at the plans. Chief officer Jenny Smith said: “Our members are concerned that the dedicated welfare benefits team is being disbanded altogether. There is no real clarity on what is happening, as we are hearing conflicting information, and people are getting very worried.
“People could be getting referred to other advice agencies such as Citizens Advice for more complex advice, but there are no additional resources to help them cope with this increased demand.”
Smith added: “It appears that all calls to the welfare benefits service are now being routed through the SBC customer services advisers, who are supposed to deal with ‘simple’ benefits enquiries – it is incredibly rare that that such enquiries are simple. The benefits system is very complex and is subject to change, and some people are always going to need specialist help.
A spokesperson for Macmillan told The National: “Our service is currently continuing as normal and will continue for the foreseeable future.
“We are aware there are wider discussions around how they provide benefits services and we will be working closely with them to ensure people with cancer continue to get the benefits and support they require.”
A Scottish Borders Council spokesperson said: “As part of a redesign of the service, existing welfare benefits duties within the council have been integrated with and will continue as part of the customer advice and support service. Customer advice and support advisers already handle varied and at times complex advice and support matters on a range of issues and will in future provide a wider range of advice and support after appropriate further training.
“Customers will have easier and wider methods of contact with a larger pool of staff able to provide initial advice and support but with quick and easy options to be referred to more specialist staff within the council or other providers when appropriate.
“The two members of staff delivering the Macmillan service provision will continue to the end of the 2017/18 financial year and will extend beyond that date if the external funding resource continues. These posts have always been temporary and one of them, an Assistant role, for only a short time.”
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