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Scottish Parliament passes bill to establish country’s first social security agency
The Scottish Parliament has passed a bill to establish Scotland’s first social security system.
The Social Security Bill will allow the government to start making social security payments later this year. This includes Discretionary Housing Payments. Welfare payments for the whole of the UK were previously handled by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The bill passed with a unanimous vote from MSPs yesterday. The new agency, Social Security Scotland, will be responsible for the delivery of 11 devolved benefits to 1.4 million people a year, worth around £3.3bn.
Scotland has been granted a number of new powers in a transfer from the UK government, including control over the administration of welfare payments.
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Jeane Freeman, social security minister, recently accused the UK government of delaying the Scottish Government’s plan to abolish the bedroom tax. The Scottish Government planned to abolish the bedroom tax in 2019 but this will now be pushed back. A UK government spokesperson said it had been “very clear” that the 2019 date was “subject to detailed feasibility”.
Ms Freeman said: “This is a historic moment, one that sets up a new public service for Scotland.
“Our system will be different. It will be rights based, with a right to independent advocacy for those who need it; fast-tracked arrangements and no arbitrary timescale for people with terminal illness; the right to have a supporter and the right to challenge decisions without having your money instantly cut.
“Now we turn to the work already underway to enable us to deliver. By the end of the summer the first Scottish payments will be being made with our 13% increase to carers allowance; we have our interim headquarters and are recruiting the first staff.
“Many people and organisations have played their part in creating this bill and we are grateful to them all. It is a milestone piece of legislation, which provides the foundation for a social security service built on dignity, fairness and respect.”
