First Minister John Swinney and Tory leader Russell Findlay clashed over benefit fraud.
by BILL HEANEY
John Swinney has been accused of being “in denial” over the scale of fraud in the SNP’s “light touch” benefits system.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay challenged the SNP leader at First Minister’s Questions to back his party’s plans for a Benefit Fraud Bill, which he unveiled this week at UK Conservative conference.
He also revealed that Social Security Scotland had received 23,000 fraud allegations over three years – but that only 42 of them had been reported to Crown Office prosecutors.
The Conservative’s “common-sense” bill, which will be taken forward by Murdo Fraser, would end the SNP government’s tick-box culture for benefit claims and restore fairness for taxpayers by forcing overpayments to be repaid.
Findlay told Swinney to pick whether he was on the side of the cheats or Scotland’s taxpayers.
In earlier questioning, Findlay highlighted Swinney’s false statement to him at last week’s First Minister’s Questions, where he said ‘Scots would lose our pensions’ and slammed him for refusing to correct Holyrood’s official record.
He told Swinney that the same culture of dishonesty and evasion is at the heart of the SNP’s benefit system.
Russell Findlay said: “John Swinney’s light-touch benefits system is wide open to abuse, but he’s in denial.
“In the face of mounting evidence of abuse, our Benefit Fraud Bill would end the foolish tick-box option to claim some benefits and give the authorities power to force cheats to repay taxpayers’ money instead of just asking them nicely.
“The SNP’s benefits bill is set to hit £9billion by 2030, which is unfair, unsustainable and unaffordable.
“Fraud within the SNP’s system is rife. New research we have uncovered shows that over 23,000 alleged cases of fraud have been reported to the SNP’s benefits agency in the last three years, but a shockingly low number of these suspected cases were passed onto the Crown Office.
“Swinney’s response to me confirms he’s on the side of the cheats, not Scotland’s taxpayers.
“Only last week he made a false statement to me about Scots losing their pensions and arrogantly refuses to correct the record. That same culture of dishonesty and evasion is at the heart of the SNP’s benefit system.”