A senior DWP official has told MPs that a highly-critical UN report on extreme poverty and human rights in the UK was “factually correct” and “made a lot of good points”, despite Ministers repeatedly attacking its accuracy.
In his final report on the impact of austerity in the UK, the UN Special Rapporteur Professor Alston accused the Government since 2010 of being in a state of denial about the impact of its austerity and welfare reform policies.
He concluded that the UK's welfare safety net has been "deliberately removed and replaced with a harsh and uncaring ethos", and that tragically austerity policies “continue largely unabated, despite the tragic social consequences”.
But in May 2019 , after Professor Alston published his final report, the DWP described it as “a barely believable documentation of Britain, based on a tiny period of time spent here” that “paints a completely inaccurate picture of our approach to tackling poverty”.
Amber Rudd, the Work and Pensions Secretary, reportedly claimed that Alston had not carried out enough research and apparently threatened to lodge a formal complaint with the UN.
However, Donna Ward, DWP’s Policy Director for Children, Families and Disadvantage, told the Work and Pensions Select Committee last week that Professor Alston’s “really good points” on issues such as austerity and cuts to local government spending. She said that the DWP had carried out a “fact check” on the report and has concluded that his report was “factually correct”.
Ms Ward said:
“I think where the secretary of state took issue with it and where I as a civil servant can’t be involved was the political interpretation of a lot of what’s happened.
But in terms of the facts, in terms of austerity, and cuts to local government funding, in terms of the reliance that we have on the labour market and the risk that we have if there was a recession, all of those things were really good points that we have taken on board, we should take on board.”
Source: DWP civil servant praises UN poverty report ministers dismissed as ‘barely believable’ available @ www.disabilitynewsservice.com
See also UK violating its human rights obligations finds UN poverty expert available @ www.disabilityrightsuk.org