£641 million was made in direct payments to people across Scotland from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 from Social Security Scotland.

The payments were made across 13 Scottish benefits, seven of which are completely new forms of support not available anywhere else in the UK. The Scottish Child Payment, extended to eligible children under the age of 16 benefitted over 300,000 young people.

Payments were made for:

1. Carer’s Allowance Supplement
2. Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment
3. Best Start Grant Early Learning payment
4. Best Start Grant School Age Payment
5. Best Start Foods
6. Funeral Support Payment
7. Young Carer Grant
8. Job Start Payment
9. Scottish Child Payment
10. Child Winter Heating Assistance
11. Adult Disability Payment
12. Child Disability Payment
13. Winter Heating Payment. 

Almost 400,000 people on low incomes have been helped with their heating costs through the Winter Heating Payment. 

Chief Executive of Social Security Scotland, David Wallace, said:

“This last year has been the busiest in our five-year history. We have significantly expanded our service, including the national rollout of Adult Disability Payment, the extension of the Scottish Child Payment and paid Winter Heating Payment for the first time.   

“We are continuing to develop and improve our service. Despite some challenges with processing times, which we are actively working to improve, we still maintained high client satisfaction rates. “

The results of an annual survey show that 93% of people who had been in contact with Social Security Scotland felt they had been treated with kindness. 

• Nearly nine-in-ten respondents believed that they had been treated with dignity (88%), fairness (87%) and respect (89%).
• A similar proportion agreed that Social Security Scotland had not wasted their time (84%)
• 86% said they understood what Social Security Scotland does.

In total, the combination of direct payments made by Social Security Scotland and those paid through Agency Agreements with the Department for Work and Pensions saw the Scottish Government invest £4.04 billion in benefits across Scotland.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice in The Scottish Government, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said:  

“We are supporting families across the country at a time where they are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and higher energy bills. We now deliver 13 benefits, seven of which are only available in Scotland and are delivering these payments while treating people with dignity, fairness and respect.  

“Our decision to expand the Scottish Child Payment to all eligible young people under the age of 16 and increase the payment to £25 per week means we are supporting more than 300,000 children and making a significant contribution to tackling child poverty.  

“As we prepare to launch Carer Support Payment, our 14^th benefit, we are committed to making sure that people get the money they are entitled to and that people who are eligible know how to apply for our payments.”