THE Scottish Government will make it a legal requirement for all devolved benefits to be annually raised in line with inflation, the Social Justice Secretary has announced.
Speaking at Holyrood’s Social Justice and Social Security Committee on Thursday morning, Shirley-Anne Somerville said that rising benefits would help to mitigate Westminster austerity, adding: “This is the price that we pay for the Union.”
She went on: “On the anniversary of the nation's independence referendum, this decision simply amplifies the urgency for full control of economic powers so we can build a future that invests in our communities with the decisions that we make here in Scotland.”
Many devolved benefits are already uprated annually in line with inflation, Somerville said, but the Government’s move will see this extended to cover them all.
The Social Justice Secretary told MSPs: “Ending child poverty is our single greatest priority. We’ve already consistently up-rated all benefits in line with inflation, and our intention is to provide certainty to families and put more money in their pockets by making it a legal requirement to annually up-rate all devolved benefits – including Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods.
“Our action will also deliver more money to households in receipt of our winter heating payments – a commitment that will deliver crucial financial support following the UK Government’s recent decision to cut Winter Fuel Payments.
“All of our action is an estimated investment of £6 million for 2025-26, rising to £12m in 2029-30.”
She went on: “Measures delivered by this Scottish Government are making a difference. Modelling in February estimated that Scottish Government policies will keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty this year alone.
“Since 2022-23, we have allocated around £3 billion per year to policies which help tackle poverty and mitigate the impacts of the cost of living crisis on households. We will continue to do all we can to break generational cycles of poverty and give all children a decent start in life.”
