MSPs seek views on Scots social security changes

A Holyrood Committee is seeking views on proposed changes to the way Scottish welfare benefits are administered.

The Social Justice & Social Security Committee issued the call as part of its stage 1 scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s Social Security (Scotland) (Amendment) Bill.

The bill proposes a range of changes, including:

• creating the framework for introducing new social security benefits for children and care experienced people;
• repealing Covid measures that allowed late applications;
• changing some of the rules about making and challenging decisions about social security assistance in Scotland;
• making some changes to when an individual or their representative must repay an overpayment, and introducing a right to review and appeal;
• allowing an individual who has been appointed to manage a person’s DWP benefits to also manage their Social Security Scotland benefits, with liability to repay to the claimant where any funds are used outside of the appointee's common law or statutory duties in bad faith;
• placing new duties on clients to provide information to Social Security Scotland in order to audit the monetary value of fraud and error in the Scottish social security system as a whole, with power to suspend or review their entitlement to benefit in the event of failure;
• a power to reclaim social security benefit from compensation for related injury or disease, as already exists for DWP benefits;
• changing the legal form of the Scottish Commission on Social Security and amending its functions to add additional types of social security regulations that it would consider. 

The committee will scrutinise the bill and consider whether these changes deliver improvements, make the system more efficient and the extent to which they reflect the Scottish Government’s social security principles.

Convener Collette Stevenson MSP commented: "We want to hear what people make of the Scottish Government’s proposed changes to social security laws. We’re particularly interested in hearing about the impact these changes will have, whether they deliver value for money and the extent to which there can be further improvement to the system as a result of these changes."

Find the call for views here. The closing date is Friday 12 January 2024.