Building on shaky foundations? Multi-level policy realities for Scottish social security policies

By Dr Hayley Bennett, College of Edinburgh and Dr Jay Wiggan, College of Edinburgh.

On 18th March, Liz Kendall (The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions) delivered a speech within the Home of Commons outlining new reforms to UK social safety insurance policies, and demonstrating that this authorities would comply with within the footsteps of lots of these earlier than by initiating one other welfare reform programme to “save £5bn a yr.” Coverage reforms focusing on incapacity and health-related advantages had been to be anticipated; the federal government had introduced it could be creating a brand new Pathways to Work Inexperienced Paper and up to date weeks a number of newspapers ran articles discussing the price of social safety spending. 

It’s maybe helpful to remind ourselves that it is a fickle and unsettled coverage area. Such massive coverage bulletins imply massive adjustments to the welfare state. The UK social safety system is mostly thought of to be extremely centralised, with the post-war welfare state centred on a UK broad social insurance coverage and social help mannequin that has, lately, been overshadowed by a Westminster- led transfer in the direction of elevated means-testing (for instance the multi-billion improvement of Common Credit score). Every new UK authorities almost at all times publicizes a ‘main welfare reform’ programme that alters coverage entitlements and eligibilities, or substantial administrative restructuring. 

Nevertheless, not all social safety stays centralised. For instance, via the Scotland Act 2016, the Scottish Authorities has developed numerous social safety powers and duties (for about £3bn of social safety expenditure in Scotland), together with the flexibility to high up some reserved advantages for individuals, and extra money transfers such because the Scottish Baby Cost[1]. Employment help is one other advanced space of coverage competency that features some duties devolved to Scotland (e.g., powers to arrange employment help programmes for disabled individuals and long-term unemployed individuals in receipt of reserved advantages) and others that stay reserved (corresponding to Jobcentre Plus that could be a UK broad, DWP managed establishment).

Complexities and multi-level dependencies

There’s a lot complexity, overlap, and dependency, then, between social safety and employment insurance policies developed and administered at completely different ranges of presidency. That is significantly the case once we speak of incapacity advantages or ill-health. In Scotland, Common Credit score and Employment Assist Allowance are issues reserved to the UK Authorities and managed by the Division for Work and Pensions (DWP), whereas advantages for extra incapacity wants are actually devolved. Some parts of help for disabled individuals and other people with well being situations stay reserved (for instance, the well being factor in Common Credit score) and a few have been devolved to the Scottish Authorities. This contains Incapacity Residing Allowance, and Private Independence Funds (PIP), the latter being the main target of a lot work by Scottish Authorities policymakers lately as they search to redevelop it into the Grownup Incapacity Cost (ADP) for Scottish residents.

Put up-2016, Scottish policymakers and the SNP administration have proactively sought to develop a ‘Scottish social safety system’ with its personal imaginative and prescient, rhetoric, and administration. In observe, nonetheless, what residents in Scotland obtain and the way typically stays carefully linked to established UK welfare insurance policies. Whereas the UK authorities stresses that the proposals of their new Inexperienced Paper will apply solely to reserved issues in Scotland, the relationships between reserved and devolved competencies and other people’s lives and interactions with the entire welfare state is advanced. As many newly devolved competencies mirror a switch of powers and administrative duties from present UK insurance policies, new Scottish insurance policies are sometimes primarily based on decided monetary calculations and established remits. There are additionally advanced intersections with totally devolved competencies corresponding to well being and abilities.  Thus, the adjustments proposed by Liz Kendall could have numerous results on residents in Scotland. 

What would possibly the Inexperienced Paper imply for Scotland? 

First, maybe probably the most urgent side for the Scottish Authorities is that adjustments in eligibilities and entitlements for PIP could have a knock-on impact to the finances out there for the ADP. PIP is a profit that folks (each out and in of labor) can apply for to hunt monetary help for the prices of their incapacity for long-term sickness. The UK authorities introduced they may tighten eligibility which can cut back the variety of individuals in receipt of PIP. The Scottish Authorities have developed ADP with a eager eye to creating administrative and evaluation processes in response to proof in regards to the unfavourable experiences of earlier Work Functionality Assessments and PIP assessments, and stressing their dedication to a ‘dignity and respect’ agenda that underpins all of the Scottish Social Safety developments. Any adjustments to PIP entitlement could have an effect on the finances out there for ADP, that means that the Scottish Authorities might want to both tighten eligibility for ADP, or keep its personal strategy however discover further funding from elsewhere within the Scottish Authorities finances. 

Second, the UK authorities introduced a number of adjustments to the remaining insurance coverage primarily based social safety funds, or ‘contributory advantages’ that are at present often called New Type JSA and New Type ESA. The Inexperienced Paper introduced the intention to seek the advice of on merging these advantages right into a time-limited Unemployment Insurance coverage, probably in an effort to disincentivise people from making use of for health-related advantages that have a tendency to come back with increased profit charges and decrease conditionality. Given the relative marginalisation of insurance coverage advantages in UK social safety over the past forty years that is probably a big coverage shift, nonetheless, and will level to rising makes an attempt to enhance the institutional complementarities between the social safety system and the (reasonable) re-regulation of the labour market being taken ahead by the UK Authorities via its New Deal for Working Folks. As all Scottish residents are eligible for the insurance coverage primarily based reserved advantages, the Scottish Authorities might want to take into account if there’s a knock-on impact of this modification by way of entry to any devolved and native welfare providers that depend on passporting (whereby an eligibility determination for one profit is predicated on whether or not they’re eligible for one more). 

Third, the UK authorities outlines how the substantial adjustments to learn evaluation for people who find themselves disabled or experiencing ill-health might be accompanied by adjustments to employment help, stating that there might be “further funding for employment, well being and abilities help, beginning subsequent yr and constructing to round a £1 billion per yr by the tip of the last decade”. The Inexperienced Paper outlines quite a lot of methods and programmes framed alongside a ‘pathways to work’ help supply, however many of those could solely apply to England. With the tip of the Truthful Begin Scotland programme the Scottish Authorities’s organisation and supply of some employment helps is already localised by way of its ‘No One Left Behind’ programme. On this sense there’s alignment with the route of journey in England in the direction of localisation of provision, however the Scottish Authorities might want to take into account the way it funds and develops its employment help providers in mild of the initiatives outlined within the Inexperienced Paper, and whether or not resulting from reserved competencies, particularly for individuals in receipt of UC or the reformed contributory primarily based profit, these may be managed throughout Scotland by way of the DWP.

Lastly, the bulletins contain alterations to evaluation processes that proceed to centre Common Credit score (a reserved profit administered by the DWP) as the principle administrative mechanisms for working age profit. Whereas 365,000 people already obtain UC well being or ESA in Scotland (each reserved advantages), the announcement that well being assessments might be included throughout the UC framework could create further complexity for the connection between ADP and UC, and importantly elevated complexity for households making an attempt to grasp and maybe navigate completely different profit eligibilities, software course of, and revenue administration. 

What now for Scottish social safety? 

The UK authorities’s reforms to incapacity and ill-health advantages reminds us of an essential situation: the interdependency between UK-wide and devolved social safety competencies. As many ‘Scottish’ insurance policies are the truth is variations of UK authorities insurance policies, or have a scope restricted by equal UK authorities spending, there’s at all times a danger that adjustments made by the UK authorities can change the muse on which Scottish social safety advantages are constructed. For instance, the Scottish profit often called the ‘Winter Heating Cost’ was a variation of the UK authorities’s ‘Winter Gas Allowance’, a coverage that the UK authorities revised from being a common profit to being means-tested (by way of entry to Pension Credit score, additionally reserved) in Autumn 2024. This transfer led the Scottish First Minister John Swinney to announce a brand new £100m (2025-2026) Pension Age Winter Heating Cost (now primarily based on different profit entitlements somewhat than being common) in Scotland and paid out of the Scottish Price range (somewhat than an equivalised DWP allocation). The same dialogue is at present going down round how the Scottish Authorities would possibly use its personal finances to ‘mitigate’ the two-child restrict (a reserved eligibility determination referring to the kid cost parts out there inside UC, additionally a reserved coverage).  

It’s encouraging that the UK authorities clearly states within the Inexperienced Paper a dedication to work with devolved governments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Eire and create ‘collaboration committees’. There’s clearly a number of coverage work wanted to make sure that multi-level social safety insurance policies can operate successfully and help individuals in instances of want. That is tough and sometimes difficult work for policymakers, as many Scottish advantages are uncovered to adjustments of their foundations. Maybe we should always acknowledge that this publicity may be a permanent function of Scottish social safety and that instability is the character of the beast, as governments often goal social safety and welfare state insurance policies for cuts and reforms.  

[1] This weblog focuses on Scotland, however there are additionally notable coverage variations in Northern Eire, some in Wales, and an rising position for native welfare. See https://safetynets.examine/about 

Concerning the authors:

Dr Hayley Bennett is a Lecturer in Social Coverage on the College of Edinburgh. She researches UK social safety and employment insurance policies. She is a member of the Centre for Constitutional Change steering group, and a member Social Coverage Affiliation’s ‘Employment and social safety’ coverage group. 

Dr Jay Wiggan is a Senior Lecturer in Social Coverage on the College of Edinburgh. His work is concentrated on employment and social safety coverage and governance, and he’s a member of the Social Coverage Affiliation’s ‘Employment and social safety’ coverage group.