Under consideration PE2276: Fast-track the Minimum Income Guarantee by 2029 and remove welfare time limits
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to abandon its unacceptable 2036 timeline for the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) and fully implement it by 2029. The baseline must equal the National Minimum Wage, independent of housing costs, and ban the proposed interim MIG model’s 12-month-in-60-months time limit on some recipients. Bureaucratic delays cost lives; poverty demands immediate action for working-age adults across Scotland. Fast-track MIG to 2029: dignity delayed is dignity denied, and working-age adults cannot wait another decade.
Background information
The Scottish Government’s Expert Group roadmap proposes implementation of the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) beyond 2036. That delay is unacceptable. With rising living costs, thousands of Scots face hardship today. Dignity cannot wait a decade.
The proposed interim MIG model also includes a 12-month-in-60-months time limit for some recipients, while exempting disabled people and unpaid carers.
A genuine MIG should provide lasting economic security, not arbitrary limits for working-age adults. A guarantee that expires after 12 months in every 60 is a temporary support scheme under another name.
Under the Scotland Act 2016, the Scottish Parliament has powers to top up incomes and create new benefits. The Scottish Government should:
• fast-track MIG to 2029;
• set the baseline at the equivalent of full-time National Minimum Wage, excluding housing and disability costs; and
• ban time limits on MIG for working-age adults. We must eradicate domestic poverty to ensure true dignity for all today.
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