Scotland's economy secretary defends SNP failure to fully mitigate Westminster two-child benefit cap

Sir Keir Starmer has been heavily criticised by the SNP and those within Scottish Labour for his failure to commit to the removal of the so-called ‘rape clause’ should UK Labour win the next general election.

Under existing rules, Universal Credit or child tax credit can only be claimed for the first two children, with an exception granted if the applicant can prove a third child was conceived non-consensually

The opposition leader, who looks set to be the next prime minister, said his party couldn’t commit to removing the cap as they were unable to make “un-costed spending commitments”.

Following the backlash from nationalists in Scotland, Labour figures have repeatedly pointed to the ability of the Scottish Government to fully mitigate the impact of the cap themselves and have asked why the Government has not done so.

Neil Gray, the Cabinet secretary for the economy, branded the suggestion “incredible” and said it was not for Holyrood to be mitigating Westminster policies.

He told The Scotsman: “I find it incredible that the Labour Party that tells us on the independence front that people with social requirements in Doncaster have exactly the same as those in Dundee would then try and tell us that we need to mitigate against Westminster failings, including what we appear to see now, which would be a UK Labour government’s failings to be able to respond effectively to the social needs of our citizens.

"We have, in Social Security Scotland, the benefits that we have come forward with and created. We have ensured that there is no two-child limit, there is no rape clause within the work that we do and we’ll continue to press forward in that vein.

"But it is for the Westminster government. We cannot continue to always be the ones that mitigate against the failures of a Westminster government.”

Mr Gray was visiting Allied Vehicles in Possilpark, Glasgow, to announce a £1.3 million grant from Scottish Enterprise. The grant will enable the company to hire an additional 35 roles as part of a drive to pioneer new vehicle conversion processes to make hybrid and electric vehicles wheelchair accessible.

Stating that tackling inequality was a “priority” for the Scottish Government, Mr Gray called on Labour to be “braver”. He said it was “incumbent” on internal opponents, such as MSP Monica Lennon, to “ensure that they are much braver than what we’ve seen thus far”.

Pressed on why the government has not done more and whether the SNP is washing its hands of responsibility, Mr Gray pointed at the Scottish Child Payment and the “hundreds of millions” spent on mitigating Westminster policies.