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Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
05 Feb 2026
Budget Scrutiny 2026-27
The social justice portfolio budget that I have is an exceptionally important part of the Government’s work to tackle child poverty. The portfolio includes social security and the fairer futures partnerships, and it has important oversight right across Government. I appreciate...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
17 Jan 2019
Budget Scrutiny 2019-20
The policy does not sit in my portfolio; it is in Aileen Campbell’s portfolio, so the weighty tome that I have in front of me does not contain details on targets for the financial health check. I can get details provided to the committee. I can say, more generally, that you m...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
18 Jan 2023
Budget Scrutiny 2023-24
That is an important area of our work. It is important to recognise that it is about not just the Gaelic budget in my portfolio but how we use cross-governmental budgets and how we use what happens within Government to deliver on Gaelic language plans. There is a £1 million in...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
20 Apr 2023
Portfolio Question Time · Older People and Social Security
I am quite happy to take compliments when they are given—by members of the Opposition, in particular. I say to Paul O’Kane with the greatest respect that one of the things that the Government is normally criticised for is its being too big and having too many ministers. Now i...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Committee
17 Jan 2019
Budget Scrutiny 2019-20
Thank you, convener, and good morning. I want to begin by thanking the committee for embracing the new budget scrutiny process this year. The letter that came ahead of the budget statement and which focused on the Scottish welfare fund was very helpful in laying out the commit...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
10 Oct 2019
Pre-budget Scrutiny 2020-21
On the second point, it all sits separately. What we are determined to do within Social Security Scotland is provide pre-application support for people, as is their right and entitlement. As I said during my initial remarks, that is moving forward through the 400 staff across ...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Committee
12 Jan 2022
Budget 2022-23
I will take a few minutes to make a short opening statement. I will then be happy to take questions. As the committee knows, the Scottish budget was introduced on 9 December. At that time, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy made it clear that the budget cannot ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
12 Jan 2022
Budget 2022-23
There are areas where different portfolios in the budget have an impact on education and skills, so, yes, there are aspects of the finance and economy portfolio budgets that will have an impact on the investment in colleges. The young person’s guarantee is an example of somet...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
05 Dec 2024
Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 (Post-legislative Scrutiny)
I mentioned in my opening remarks the Cabinet sub-committee that we now have. The First Minister chaired the first meeting of that a few months ago, which laid important groundwork for how he wants to deal with the matter. Even before we had the Cabinet sub-committee, we worke...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
31 Oct 2018
Portfolio Question Time · General Practice (Community Link Worker Recruitment)
Responsibility for community link workers sits in the portfolio of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport. Community link workers continue to form a core component of primary care reform. Our commitment to delivering 250 link workers by 2021-22 is on track. As part of our ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
22 Nov 2018
Social Security and In-work Poverty
As the deputy convener rightly points out, the rules on passported benefits are very complicated. The policy area sits in many different ministerial portfolios; therefore, so do the criteria for benefits. The specific issue that Pauline McNeill has asked about sits in the educ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
17 Jan 2019
Budget Scrutiny 2019-20
As the committee would expect, I have a number of meetings with Aileen Campbell, who is the lead for the tackling child poverty delivery plan, to see how social security can assist with the delivery of that, whether that is through best start grant payments, the Scottish welfa...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
07 Mar 2019
International Women’s Day 2019
Elaine Smith is right to point to that. I was in the chamber for the health secretary’s answer on that issue, which is an important matter to which the Government and society as a whole must give sufficient attention. I thoroughly endorse her remarks on that. On 25 January, t...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
10 Oct 2019
Pre-budget Scrutiny 2020-21
We manage it across the portfolios by ensuring that there is extremely good cross-Government awareness of what is happening within my portfolio and other portfolios. Ministers are fully aware of the timetable for changes to when a devolved benefit will come in. Of course, wit...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
10 Oct 2019
Pre-budget Scrutiny 2020-21
I will do a little bit of both, convener. I will certainly note the comments and absolutely appreciate where that view comes from. It is not an area for my portfolio to make any policy decisions on; it would be for another minister. I will perhaps leave it there for today but ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
27 Nov 2019
Portfolio Question Time · Support for Older People (Cold Weather)
The member’s question might best be raised with one of my colleagues, since it does not sit in my portfolio, but I take his point about the importance of ensuring that anyone, whether within their own home or in a care home, can access appointments as and when they are require...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
08 Jan 2020
Portfolio Question Time · Carers Allowance (Earnings Threshold)
As the social security representative for the Scottish Conservatives, Ms Ballantyne will recognise that that is not a matter that sits within my portfolio, but I will get the relevant minister to reply to her in writing.
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
06 Feb 2020
Benefit Take-up
I can certainly provide information in writing about the Scottish Government expenditure to support that provision. As you say, convener, the landscape of how rights advice is funded in Scotland is exceptionally complex. Funding does not simply come from the Scottish Governmen...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
20 Feb 2020
Budget Scrutiny 2020-21
That is very much a comment that Kate Forbes makes in Cabinet, and not just to Opposition spokespeople. I go back to the fact that that money absolutely has to be found in year. Obviously, the first port of call is to ask whether the situation can be managed in year within our...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
20 Feb 2020
Budget Scrutiny 2020-21
There are two aspects to that: the implementation costs within the programme and the expenditure on benefits. The expenditure on benefits is £21 million, which is in Ms Campbell’s portfolio return rather than mine. However, the implementation costs are in my portfolio.
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
18 Feb 2021
Budget Scrutiny 2021-22
To be clear, we are doing the marketing campaigns because we have an overall desire in Government to ensure that everybody—particularly those who might not have had any contact with the benefits system before—knows that they have available to them a single point of contact tha...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
03 Mar 2021
Portfolio Question Time · Social Security Scotland (Cost)
I point out to Finlay Carson that the Scottish Government has a benefit take-up strategy, unlike the United Kingdom Government. I hope that the UK Government will set up a take-up strategy because we are not responsible for all benefits up here. I would like all Governments to...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
03 Mar 2021
Portfolio Question Time · Social Security Scotland (Client Survey)
What we have achieved in social security in Scotland is testament to the hard work that has gone on both within the Government and, importantly, with our key stakeholders and all the individuals with lived experience who have taken part in the process, so that we could deliver...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
18 May 2022
Scottish Attainment Challenge Inquiry
You are suggesting that I find additional money that I do not have. For example, the £6 million that you are quoting would take further PEF money from schools. If you are suggesting that we could allocate money by taking the £6 million of current underspend from PEF, which wil...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
02 Feb 2023
Portfolio Question Time · Higher National Qualifications (Articulation)
I am happy to ask Mr Hepburn, who is not able to attend portfolio question time today, to go through that in detail with the member. She has raised a very important issue so, if she will allow, we will get back to her in writing.
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
02 Feb 2023
Portfolio Question Time · Tertiary Education (Monitoring of Commitments)
The Government is delivering both for colleges and for universities. That is demonstrated in the budget, the debate on which will follow portfolio question time, with additional funding going to our colleges and universities. The Government was, of course, elected to deliver ...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
02 Mar 2023
Portfolio Question Time · Budget 2023-24 (Education and Skills Provision in Glasgow)
The Scottish Government’s education and skills portfolio will provide more than £4.2 billion in 2023-24 to help to improve the life chances of our children, young people and learners of all ages and to support everybody to reach their full potential. Through the local governm...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
19 Apr 2023
Portfolio Question Time · Food Insecurity and Food Poverty
I join Monica Lennon in commending the work that FareShare does, which, unfortunately, is still widely needed in our communities. She is right to point to the work that the cabinet secretary did in convening the summit. As part of my portfolio, I, too, am very interested in wo...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
11 May 2023
Portfolio Question Time · Scottish Welfare Fund
Local authorities have an obligation to promote the fund to those who they think need its support. I take the member’s question in good faith, but this is my second set of social justice portfolio questions and the second time that a Labour member has asked me to spend more on...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
19 Dec 2024
Portfolio Question Time · Draft Budget (Eradication of Child Poverty)
Clare Haughey is quite right to point out that, as the eradication of child poverty is a defining mission of the Government, it is not just for this portfolio but for all ministers to take exceptionally seriously, and that is why we have a cross-Government response. I believe...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
03 Apr 2025
Portfolio Question Time · Social Security Scotland (Effectiveness)
As an executive agency, Social Security Scotland is part of the Scottish Government. Oversight arrangements are in place in the form of a portfolio accountable officer, who scrutinises performance and progress against aims and objectives. Social Security Scotland provides regu...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
23 Sep 2025
Topical Question Time · Charities (Closures)
The exact reason why I have had the many discussions that I have had—most recently the round-table discussion that I mentioned—is so that we can talk about what the Government could do. Alexander Stewart is also well aware—because we met, I think, just last week—of the import...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
02 Oct 2025
Portfolio Question Time · Devolved Benefits (Spending)
I met the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government and the Minister for Public Finance in April to discuss the fiscal sustainability delivery plan and public service reform strategy, and more recently, in September, for a review of portfolio spending as part of the b...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Committee
05 Feb 2026
Budget Scrutiny 2026-27
Forgive me, Mr Balfour, but that fund does not sit within my portfolio—it sits within the Deputy First Minister’s portfolio—so I do not have the details to hand, but I know that Richard Lochhead recently answered a question about it in Parliament.
Shirley-Anne Somerville (Lothians) (SNP): SNP Chamber
31 Jan 2008
Passenger Transport
Improving access to safe, reliable public transport is vital to cutting social exclusion, especially among the disabled and the older generations. The SNP Government recognises the valuable contribution that has been made by the national concessionary travel scheme in widening...
Shirley-Anne Somerville: SNP Committee
29 Sep 2009
Budget Process 2010-11
As was mentioned earlier, the carbon intensity of spend is broadly similar across portfolios, with the exception of the rural affairs and the environment portfolio. Do the witnesses have any comments on that similarity between the budgets? Further to Professor Roaf's point, wh...
The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
15 Jun 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Universities (Fair Access)
Fair access to higher education for those in our most deprived communities is a key priority for this Government. We have legislated on access, invested significant additional resource in additional places and have consistently challenged universities and the wider system to d...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
15 Jun 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Universities (Fair Access)
I will certainly take that issue under advisement and look into it for Willie Coffey. It is important to realise that, increasingly, Scottish universities operate contextualised admission policies that are not just down to grades. We must look at a number of issues when we loo...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
15 Jun 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Universities (Fair Access)
It is not as easy as expanding the system—saying that if we increase the number of places, wider access will follow. If only it were that straightforward. The Scottish Government has already invested money in additional places over the past years, but the commission on widenin...
The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
15 Jun 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Scotland’s Rural College
I am planning a schedule of visits to all Scottish higher education institutions over the coming months, and I am keen that it will include Scotland’s Rural College.
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
15 Jun 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Scotland’s Rural College
I understand Joan McAlpine’s concern, given the importance of agricultural skills to the economy in Dumfries and Galloway. I am pleased to note the commitment that was made by the SRUC in January to continuing delivery of land-based education and training in the region. I also...
The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
28 Sep 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Student Support (European Union)
In 2014-15, we launched a pilot project to support Scotland-domiciled undergraduates to attend a number of universities in other European Union countries. Students who take part do not pay tuition fees and are entitled to apply for the same living cost support as those who stu...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
28 Sep 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Student Support (European Union)
As I said, the pilot project is due to end with the 2016-17 intake of students, and we will then evaluate it. I make it clear that all students who are currently taking part, and those who are beginning an eligible course this year, will be supported to complete their whole co...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
28 Sep 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Student Support (European Union)
Tavish Scott raises an important point about the implications of Brexit and the requirements for various parts of the economy, including the construction sector. Apprenticeships have played a very important part in the Scottish Government’s commitment to its offerings for youn...
The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
28 Sep 2016
Portfolio Question Time · University Admissions (Equality)
As autonomous institutions, universities are ultimately responsible for their own admissions procedures and decisions. That said, we invest more than £51 million every year to support around 7,000 places that are targeted at disadvantaged learners and those progressing from co...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
28 Sep 2016
Portfolio Question Time · University Admissions (Equality)
Although data on entrance to university by socioeconomic background is available, the commission on widening access recognised the need for enhanced data and analysis on access. My officials are therefore working with the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council t...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
28 Sep 2016
Portfolio Question Time · University Admissions (Equality)
Appointing a commissioner was an important part of the commission’s recommendations and the Government is keen to make an appointment. It has to be the right appointment. We want somebody who can challenge not just the sector but the Government, so we are looking for someone w...
The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
28 Sep 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Brexit (College Sector Implications)
The Scottish Government is determined to protect our place in Europe and will explore all options to do so. The United Kingdom vote to leave the European Union presents a period of uncertainty for our education sector, including our colleges. The Scottish Further and Higher Ed...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
28 Sep 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Brexit (College Sector Implications)
I very much enjoyed my visit to the college during the summer recess. I saw at first hand what is going on within the college on employability and I had a chance to speak to EU students while I was there. Of course, our ability to fully assess the different options will be co...
The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
28 Sep 2016
Portfolio Question Time · College Buildings (Condition Assessment)
It is the responsibility of the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council to advise ministers on the condition of college buildings. The SFC undertook an assessment of college estates in 2014 and refreshed that exercise earlier this year.
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
28 Sep 2016
Portfolio Question Time · College Buildings (Condition Assessment)
Capital funding to the Scottish Government as a whole has fallen quite dramatically, given the Westminster austerity measures. A dose of realism needs to be brought to the chamber. Every single time an Opposition member makes claims for capital and revenue against the Governm...
The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
23 Nov 2016
Portfolio Question Time · University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University (Revenue Grant Reduction)
Notwithstanding the context of continued United Kingdom Government fiscal austerity, the Scottish Government has in 2016-17 invested more than £1 billion in Scotland’s universities for the fifth year in succession. The University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University, along...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
23 Nov 2016
Portfolio Question Time · University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University (Revenue Grant Reduction)
Decisions on funding for individual institutions are made by the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, which considers a number of factors. The settlement may be challenging for some universities, and it comes at a challenging time for the north-east. However,...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
23 Nov 2016
Portfolio Question Time · University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University (Revenue Grant Reduction)
Scotland is an outward-looking and inclusive country that has benefited socially, economically and culturally from students from the rest of the EU coming to study here and from the EU researchers and staff who we have. The UK Government’s consistent ambiguity on the status of...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
23 Nov 2016
Portfolio Question Time · University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University (Revenue Grant Reduction)
Despite Iain Gray’s invitation, I will not write Derek Mackay’s budget today.
The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
23 Nov 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Moray College UHI (Financial Support)
Moray College funding is provided through the regional strategic board of the University of the Highlands and Islands. A combination of grant funding from the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council and UHI provided a total of £8.467 million in the 2014-15 financ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
23 Nov 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Moray College UHI (Financial Support)
The distribution of funding for UHI colleges is a matter for the regional strategic body, UHI. I understand that UHI remains in active discussion with Moray College on its funding for future years and is waiting for further material from the college to move the process forward...
The Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP Chamber
23 Nov 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Colleges (Response to Employers’ Needs)
The college sector has seen increased involvement from employers as a result of the college merger process. Through outcome agreements with the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, colleges are committed to delivering vocational pathways, apprenticeships and ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
23 Nov 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Colleges (Response to Employers’ Needs)
The Scottish Government has a target of 116,000 full-time equivalent places, which we have fulfilled. We are ensuring that our college places are based on what the economy needs. That includes not just full-time places but part-time places, which are funded. In particular, pla...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP Chamber
23 Nov 2016
Portfolio Question Time · Colleges (Response to Employers’ Needs)
Colleges respond well to meet employment demands from particular employers in their areas. Linda Fabiani mentioned a demand that is specific to her area, and I believe that the British Society of Scientific Glassblowers has applied to the Scottish Qualifications Authority for ...
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Committee

Social Justice and Social Security Committee 05 February 2026 [Draft]

05 Feb 2026 · S6 · Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Item of business
Budget Scrutiny 2026-27
Somerville, Shirley-Anne SNP Dunfermline Watch on SPTV
The social justice portfolio budget that I have is an exceptionally important part of the Government’s work to tackle child poverty. The portfolio includes social security and the fairer futures partnerships, and it has important oversight right across Government. I appreciate and understand the focus on how we are spending the money that we were going to use to mitigate the two-child limit. The details of that have been laid out in the budget.Money elsewhere in the Scottish Government budget—outwith my portfolio—is also an important part of this, whether it is for work on breakfast clubs in the education portfolio, on employability in the Deputy First Minister’s portfolio, or on other things. Our oversight work in the Cabinet sub-committee on child poverty that is chaired by the First Minister is an important way that we challenge ourselves right across Government to look at how not simply my budget but every budget can impact on child poverty. That is how I have the reassurance, when looking at the spending review, that every cabinet secretary—it is not just me—has been looking at the impact that we can have on delivery against the 2030 targets and the role that we can play in drafting the plan that will be published in March.

In the same item of business

09:00
The Convener SNP
Our next item of business is an evidence session with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice on the Scottish Government’s budget for 2026-27. I welcome Shi...
The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice (Shirley-Anne Somerville) SNP
Good morning. The 2026-27 budget invests funding of almost £68 billion to secure a fair, healthy, safe, prosperous and green society, to tackle the cost of l...
The Convener SNP
Thank you very much, cabinet secretary. We will move straight to questions.
Marie McNair (Clydebank and Milngavie) (SNP) SNP
Good morning. Audit Scotland recommends that the Scottish Government should have a clear strategy to manage risks to the Scottish budget that arise from UK G...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP
There is no denying that the Scottish Government’s budget choices are impacted by our exposure to UK Government decisions. In my area, that is particularly r...
Marie McNair SNP
It is challenging, but we are still managing to set a balanced budget every year. The U-turn on PIP gave us the Timms review. What influence are we having on...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP
I welcome my on-going discussions with Stephen Timms; indeed, I spoke to him just yesterday about the work that the review is undertaking. It would be fair t...
Carol Mochan (South Scotland) (Lab) Lab
Good morning. The Scottish budget increases Social Security Scotland’s fiscal resource budget by around £40 million. In addition, a response to a recent parl...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP
I will bring in Stephen Kerr in a minute, because that issue has a direct impact on what has been happening in his directorate, with staff moving to the agen...
Stephen Kerr (Scottish Government)
Carol Mochan is right to say that the £40 million concerns more than just people. If you think about it as assets—
Carol Mochan Lab
That is what I was trying to get at.
Stephen Kerr
We have a number of contracts in place. For example, our testing contract is worth around £10 million. When we are making changes and introducing new benefit...
Carol Mochan Lab
That is helpful. You touched on the live running and digital development functions. The policy and delivery function within the Scottish Government has a bud...
Stephen Kerr
Yes. That is essentially the budget that I am left with at the end of the programme. Around half of that goes on core elements of the social security system ...
Carol Mochan Lab
That is helpful—thank you.I have one final question at this point. The spending review sets out cumulative savings and efficiencies for Social Security Scotl...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP
Public service reform and the savings that are set out in the spending review are important. The savings that are set across the spending review period apply...
Jeremy Balfour (Lothian) (Ind) Ind
At our meeting on 22 January, David Wallace told the committee that Social Security Scotland can drive public service reform and efficiencies. He referred to...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP
I will give some examples of how it has happened in the past. Some of it will be obvious and demonstrable, such as a change to automation of payments, for ex...
Jeremy Balfour Ind
I have a couple of quick follow-up questions. First, you talked about free school meals, but could information be shared with local authorities in relation t...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP
On the first point, we are in the foothills of how we can and should use data sharing in the future. A lot of work is going on in that area, not just in rela...
Julie Humphreys (Scottish Government)
It is important that we evaluate the impact of different policies across the tackling child poverty programme. As I have said to the committee previously, we...
Jeremy Balfour Ind
That is helpful.I want to cover another area quickly. When do you intend to introduce regulations that will enable Social Security Scotland to estimate the l...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP
That is an area that the committee discussed in great detail when it considered the Social Security (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill. From memory, the committee w...
Jeremy Balfour Ind
Thank you.
Marie McNair SNP
As we know, the Westminster Parliament debated the bill to remove the two-child limit from universal credit. It took a while to get to that stage, but we got...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP
There will be an impact on the Scottish Government’s budget, because we will continue to mitigate, as far as we possibly can, the benefit cap in full. It is ...
Marie McNair SNP
It is really important for DHPs to get to families who are impacted. Access to DHPs used to be through housing benefit, which meant that councils were clear ...
Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP
It is a challenge. That is one of the reasons why, rather than the Scottish Government mitigating the effects of the benefit cap, it would be more effective ...
Marie McNair SNP
We have received suggestions about how the money that is no longer needed for mitigation of the two-child limit should be spent. What are your thoughts on th...