Social Justice and Social Security Committee 18 December 2025
We are very keen to learn lessons. That is why we wanted to work more closely with the UK Government on the development of the strategy, because we thought that there might even be things that we could learn from it—who knows? We did not have that opportunity, but we are keen to look at it.
09:30It is important to recognise that we in Scotland have sometimes taken different approaches to policies and that there are also policies available in Scotland that are not available in the UK. I mentioned the fact that, overall, around £3 billion is spent on helping those on low incomes and the cost of living crisis. We have developed the five family payments, including the Scottish child payment, in which we invest more than £0.5 billion, and there are the free prescriptions and free eye tests. There are therefore a number of things that are not in the UK strategy that are in the Scottish Government’s policy.
As we look at where the UK Government has taken a different policy approach, it is also important that we learn lessons. There is a difference in approach to childcare in England, with that approach being available only to working families. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has made it clear that, despite the investment that has been made, the poorest third of families will see almost no direct benefit from the new entitlements. When I was down in London for my most recent round table, I also heard that there are some implementation challenges when a policy is being launched, but there are also challenges with delivery. That is quite normal when such a large policy is undertaken.
Those are the types of lessons that we would like to be able to learn, so we can learn about what has worked well and about the challenges that different Governments, whether in England or Wales, face when they take different approaches.