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Work and Pensions
Minister Iain Duncan Smith’s announcement on Government plans to
introduce payments on pre-paid cards to welfare state claimants has been denounced as “positively Orwellian” by the Green Party.
The party has responded to Iain Duncan Smith’s speech with anger saying that “this move is deliberately aimed at generating disunity and creating hostility towards the most vulnerable.”
Green Party Welfare Spokesperson, Romayne Phoenix said:
The Conservative's disastrous decision to introduce payments on pre-paid cards for claimants shows how out of touch they are with the realities of life for many people in Britain today. Anyone that is in debt or struggling to earn a living doesn't need reminding to spend their small benefit payments on food for their families. What most people need are better wages and better support. 87% of people claiming state aid are already in work but often in such low paid jobs that leave them unable to pay their bills and having to look to the state for help. These families deserve support, not retribution and humiliation.If the Conservative's really want to help people facing problems with gambling and addiction, they should stop promoting the national lottery and stop cutting funding to those vital support services that have been set up specifically to help people in tackling such issues. If the government is really that hung-up on problem gambling, a more socially beneficial approach might be to introduce pre-paid cards for their friends in banking that require them to invest sustainability and ethically rather than speculating away public finances.
The Welfare reforms have so far caused "financial hardship and distress" a committee of MPs found in April.
