The year in social security calls for a different approach

On 25 April 2018, the Scottish Parliament passed a bill that marked the biggest transfer of powers to Holyrood since devolution.

The passing of the Social Security (Scotland) Bill was described as “a historic day” by Jeane Freeman, then social security minister, who was the driving force behind the new legislation.

She told MSPs at the time: “We have a new public service for the people of Scotland, a principle now enshrined in legislation. That, I believe, is something we should all be proud of.

“This bill has been an opportunity to set up a new service and to do things differently, to remake the system in a way that better fits with the ambition we have for ourselves, as a parliament and as a country. Our shared ambition to live with dignity, fairness and respect.”

The bill – which formed part of the post-referendum deal on new powers for Holyrood – means that the Scottish Parliament is taking over responsibility for 11 benefits, including Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Carer’s Allowance.

The devolution of the powers is being staggered, with the newly established Social Security Scotland on course to provide six benefits by the end of September.

According to the most recent figures, the Carer’s Allowance Supplement has helped around 77,500 so far by providing £35m, in addition to the £157m in Carer’s Allowance payments made to date.

More than 9,700 low-income families have been supported through pregnancy and early childhood with the new Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby payment introduced last December, with a total of £3.5m provided to date.

The £10 a week Scottish Child Payment, recently announced by the Scottish Government, is expected to lift 30,000 Scottish children out of poverty. 

And more than 14,000 applications for the Best Start Grant were received in just a week, following the launch in June of the new School Age Payment, which gives eligible low-income families £250 to help towards things such as buying school uniform and after-school clubs.

Other benefits – Funeral Expense Assistance, Best Start Foods and the Young Carer Grant – will be launched by the end of this year.

Originally, the new body was set to take control of all 11 devolved benefits by 2021, but the Scottish Government came under fire at the start of the year after it emerged the full delivery of welfare benefits was to be delayed until 2024.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told MSPs that the delay to the replacement of PIP was to make sure the transfer of cases happens “effectively and securely”.

But opposition parties hit out at the delay, branding it “hypocritical” and a “betrayal”, amongst other things.

Michelle Ballantyne, the social security spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives, said at the time: “For two years the SNP has slammed the Department of Work and Pensions. The SNP has used highly charged language on the UK Government’s administration of benefits. The SNP has raised expectations and promised the earth to some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people.

“After repeated promises that the new system would be up and running by the end of this parliament, we now learn that this will just not happen – and it will be 2024 before PIP’s successor is in place.

“That is nine years since the Scotland Act that introduced the devolution of social security, from the party that claimed they could set up an independent country within 18 months.”

The SNP has consistently directed its “highly charged language” towards the UK Government’s two-child cap – or the ‘rape clause’ as it is better known – which restricts the child element in Universal Credit and tax credits to the first two children.

Recent HMRC figures revealed that 9,000 Scottish families have been affected by the cap and that 510 UK women have filled out a form to prove their child was born of rape or a “coercive relationship” since 2017.

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Despite its very public opposition to the rape clause, the SNP government has been criticised for not stepping in to prevent it happening in Scotland, given it has previously taken action on the bedroom tax and housing benefit cuts.

Scottish Labour’s social security spokesperson Mark Griffin said: “Scotland could effectively end the cap, scrap the rape clause and do what we can to reverse the devastating effects of this callous policy.

“Instead, ministers are refusing to do so, despite the Scottish Parliament taking action on the bedroom tax and housing benefit cuts.”

Meanwhile, Audit Scotland published its report on the new benefits system in May and, while the spending watchdog said the Scottish Government has done a good job of delivering its first set of devolved benefits, it warned that the real challenge is yet to come.

The report stated that while carers and new parents successfully received payments in 2018 when the new agency was established, bringing in early benefits was harder than expected.

Caroline Gardner, the Auditor General for Scotland, said the government does not yet have a clear picture of what will be needed to make the next, much more complex, set of benefit payments.

The report stated that constant short-term pressures and a high pace of work has left civil servants little time to pause and refocus their activity, which poses risks to the overall delivery of future benefits.

Gardner said: “The government has done well to date but has had to work flat out to reach this point, leaving little time to draw breath and plan for the challenges ahead.

“The social security team is doing the right things to address that issue, but it hasn’t yet got a clear understanding of what’s needed to deliver the more complex benefits to come, or how much it will cost. Many decisions about future benefits are still to be made and it’s critical that detailed plans are now put in place.”

Responding to the findings, Somerville said: “Our aim from the start has been to get social security right for Scotland – in a way that treats people with dignity and respect and protects people and payments. In just a year and in the face of considerable complexity, this report recognises we have done well to launch a new benefits service for Scotland. It also highlights the challenge we face as we scale up to deliver the next round of payments.”

She added: “I have always been clear, just as my predecessors were, that we don’t underestimate the challenges and complexities ahead, but we have also always recognised the opportunity we have to change social security for the better for Scotland.”