Scottish Catholic Observer

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow has called on the UK Government to make it easier for Scotland’s poorest to access benefits as they face ‘desperate’ poverty and hunger this Christmas.

The president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland was speaking at the launch of the Scottish Leaders Welfare Group in Glasgow on Monday about the impact of welfare reform on the poor.

“The mechanisms for claiming benefits are not fit for purpose,” Archbishop Tartaglia said.

The archbishop added that he wanted ‘those in power in London, because it is there that these decisions still are made, that they need to look closely at the reality on the ground in places like Glasgow and see the failings in the structures. And I would ask them to do all they can to put things right.’

“Money is there, set aside from taxation, but people face an impenetrable bureaucratic jungle to try to access payments,” he said. “Changes have been made without sufficient training and the system is being depersonalised. The result is that people are being left in desperate situations without support.”

At the launch meeting the group of church and union leaders heard personal experiences of benefits cuts and Government austerity measures at Drumchapel Citizens Advice Bureau before a visit to Drumchapel Foodbank at their first meeting. The group, which was formed by Citizens Advice Scotland, includes Archbishop Tartaglia and other members of the Catholic Church, Church of Scotland Moderator the Rev John Chalmers and Grahame Smith of the Scottish Trade Union Congress.

Catholic peer Lord John McFall (above), who chairs the group, said they hope to gather ‘empirical evidence’ of the damaging effect of benefit cuts to present to UK and Scottish governments.

Fr Thomas Boyle, assistant secretary general of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, is also part of the group. He said that benefit changes brought in the last 12 to 18 months have resulted in ‘chaos.’

“People have been moved from a system where they had a face-to-face interview with a person dealing with their claim to this impersonal system where people are not being treated as individuals,” he added. “We are a non party political organisation and that’s why we didn’t want to get involved before the referendum. We want to look at the effect these changes are having on people. How can we help the people who need the help?”

—[email protected]

Pic: PA

—Read the full version of this story in Dec 12 edition of the SCO in parishes from Friday.