Future social security spending in Scotland

Overview

The Social Justice and Social Security Committee is seeking views on future social security spending in Scotland. Those views will inform the Committee’s scrutiny.

The Committee will base any assessment of public opinion on published data from opinion polls. As responses to this call for evidence will be self-selecting, they cannot be assumed to be representative of public opinion and will not be treated as such.

About this call for views

The Committee would like to gather your views on future social security spending in Scotland.

Who we would like to hear from

We welcome responses from a wide range of individuals and organisations, including:

individuals who receive social security benefits, and organisations who advise or support such individuals
academics or others with expertise in public finances
Government agencies, public bodies and local authorities
any other stakeholders with an interest in social security spending

How to contribute

Please answer the call for views by completing the submission form below.

You don’t have to answer all the questions. If you would prefer to send in a statement which does not cover any of the questions, please get in touch with the Committee at SJSS.committee@parliament.scot

Questions in the call for views Questions in the call for views

To what extent do you welcome the growth in devolved social security spend? Please explain your reasons.
To what extent are you concerned about the growth in devolved social security? Please explain your reasons.
What is the evidence that spending on devolved social security is effective in supporting those who need it?
Do you think further increasing any particular social security payments would be a cost-effective way of reducing child poverty? If you think that it would, what increases to which payments should be considered?
What are your views on the advantages and disadvantages of universal benefits compared to those targeted at low-income households?
To what extent is the Scottish Government’s ability to manage the devolved social security budget affected by UK Government policy choices?

Analysis

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) will prepare a summary and analysis of responses.

If we receive a very high volume of submissions, this may need to be prepared based on a sample of submissions.

Confidentiality and publication of responses

Please let us know if you wish your response to remain confidential. You can also ask for your submission to be anonymised.

We aim to publish all the submissions we receive. The only exceptions are where submissions are made on a “confidential” or “not for publication” basis.

If we receive a very high volume of submissions, we may not have the resources to process and publish them all.

How to submit your views

Please submit your views using the online submission form, linked to below.

We welcome written views in English, Gaelic, Scots or any other language.

The call for views closes on Sunday 17 August 2025.

Give us your views

Click here to complete the submission form

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