IDS committee 'refusal' criticised

Jan 22 2013

A senior UK Government minister has been branded "disrespectful" over his failure to address a Holyrood committee on welfare reform.

Michael McMahon, the convener of the Scottish Parliament's Welfare Reform Committee, said they had urged Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith to appear before them no fewer than five times now.

In November, the Labour MSP had said it was "beyond disappointing" that Mr Duncan Smith had "refused to give public evidence to our committee".

He has hit out at the Tory politician again, claiming the UK Government minister was prepared to speak on the issue at a conference in Scotland, but would not come to Holyrood.

Mr McMahon said it was "particularly galling to find out that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, is to address a conference on the subject of welfare reform in Scotland".

He added: "People should not have to pay to hear the views of the UK minister on such an important matter.

"His continued refusal to give public evidence to our committee now seems all the more disrespectful.

"For the fifth time, we urge Mr Duncan Smith to reconsider his decision and to come and put on record the answers to the many questions we have.

"He owes this not just to us as parliamentarians but, more importantly, to the most vulnerable people in Scotland and those who are working tirelessly to support them."

In a letter to the committee, Mr Duncan Smith said he was planning to be in Scotland in the spring and "would be happy to meet informally with the committee at that time".