Entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter believes some people 'pampered' on welfare

Sir Tom Hunter: The businessman wrote about the benefits system in the Sunday Times.© STV

Scots entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter believes the welfare state has enabled people to become "pampered".

The businessman was critical of the way some have become dependent on benefits.

He did note that his criticism of the system did not mean that he felt it should be scrapped, but he claimed it was vital that it was used by "the most vulnerable" in our society.

The 51-year-old, who made his fortune through retailer Sports Division in the 1990s, wrote about the benefits system in an editorial piece for the Sunday Times after he had recently visited China.

He stated: "There’s a Scots parody of the saying ‘give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime’ summing up, of course, how to move up and out of poverty in a sustainable manner. In Scotland we say buy a man a fish supper, then show him where the chippie is.

"The joke may be funny but its undercurrent isn’t and it’s palpably true of the West in general and Scotland in particular - dependency. The fact is the welfare state has enabled us to become pampered, dependent people who expect what others strive and graft hard for.

"Recently I returned from a trip to China where the palpable ambition and confidence of its people just about floored me - instead of gloom they saw boom, opportunity at every corner.Asked what they feared most, the response was the corrupting influence of the welfare state on ambition and the work ethic; in China they graft to pay their way, there is no other route."

Sir Tom added: "Now, before anyone has me confined as a right-wing zealot, I am not advocating that we do not need the welfare state. For those most vulnerable, most in need in our society, it is sacrosanct. However, the pendulum of support has, in my view, swung too far and we expect too much from our state when in many respects we have not earned that expectation."

The businessman described China as "commucapitalist" in his piece and said that Scots involved in business abroad "need to capitalise way more" on the warm welcome they receive across the world.

He also addressed the 2014 independence referendum in his editorial article, where he said a speedy resolution to the question is not the best.

Sir Tom said: "Regardless of when and what the outcome of the referendum is, it is clear to me there are certain things this small nation needs to do to succeed — as we have in the past and can in the future. According to Arthur Herman, an American historian, we Scots invented the modern world through the Enlightenment. It’s about time we once again threw off the shackles of constraint that debilitates ambition and delivered the next iteration of a modern Western state in or out of the UK.

"To do that we need ambition from our politicians, our entrepreneurs, our public servants and the third sector. We need an education system that delivers for pupils no matter what their talents. In short we are all in this together — we need to work in tandem, in partnership for growth and for the prosperity of all."

He also highlighted statistics produced by last year’s STV Appeal, that one in four Scottish children live in poverty. Sir Tom is a trustee of the appeal and has donated millions to charity through the Hunter Foundation.

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