Safety Nets study shares insights into social security and devolution
Published: 21 May 2026
Devolved policies added £1 billion of additional social security expenditure in Scotland and Northern Ireland - and this continues to rise, finds systematic research led by Safety Nets
Devolved policies added £1 billion of additional social security expenditure in Scotland and Northern Ireland (in 2024-25) - and this continues to rise, finds systematic research led by Safety Nets, a project funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
The first of its kind study, led by the University of Glasgow, provides new evidence on social security spending across the UK’s four nations and the impact of devolution, helping to inform how politicians set out priorities for reform.
As the UK processes the results of elections to the Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru and local authorities in England, the study found that most of this extra money targets low-income families with children. There is considerable variation in entitlements between parts of England due to the localisation of Council Tax Reduction and crisis support.
Delivery of benefits differs widely across the UK, with no disability assessments in Scotland, different Universal Credit payment patterns in Northern Ireland, and a unique public-private-voluntary sector partnership for crisis support delivery in Wales.
Despite these differences, the structure of social security across the UK remains largely the same. Additional expenditure due to devolution remains small in the context of the overall social security spending (3.2% in Scotland and 0.5% in Northern Ireland in 2024-25), yet it can make a very big difference to the households that receive extra money.
Mark Simpson is Senior Lecturer and Research Director at the School of Law, Ulster University and lead author of the ‘State of the Nations’ report. He said: “It is important neither to overstate nor understate the significance of devolution and localisation for UK social security. Devolved-level decisions account for a small proportion of social security spending and have not radically changed the structure of the system. Even so, their impact for people who receive benefits has been significant and we can expect further debates on the role of devolved and local government in shaping and delivering this vital service.
“Is the extra money being spent in Scotland and Northern Ireland a great example of using devolved powers to address poverty, or simply unfair to families elsewhere? Everyone will have their own view on that, but we all need to understand what is happening in social security in different parts of the UK, why and what difference it makes.”
Melanie Simms, Professor of Work and Employment and Dean of Research for the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow, said: “The results of this month’s elections confirm that understanding the extent, impact and possibilities of devolved and local social security powers is more vital than ever. Both the Scottish and Welsh Governments will be led by parties with ambitions to use social security as an anti-poverty tool and to increase the powers transferred to Holyrood and Cardiff Bay. This report highlights the issues that politicians need to be aware of, so that real progress can be made in social security provision that has a positive impact for those who are most in need of it.”
The report examines the extent, nature, causes and implications of place-based variation in social security for working-age adults and families with dependent children across the UK. The most distinctive developments in recent years include:
Scotland: A family on universal credit in Scotland will receive at least an extra £1,800 in the first year of their baby’s life compared to other parts of the UK, illustrating how the Scottish government is using social security as a tool to reduce child poverty.
Northern Ireland: Targeted payments help mitigate the impact of certain benefit cuts since 2012 such as the ‘bedroom tax’ and benefit cap, but the Executive is cautious about breaking parity with social security in England and Wales.
Wales: The Discretionary Assistance Fund provides crisis support through a unique system in which decisions on awards are made by a private company with support from local authorities, while delivery and appeals are handled by voluntary sector partners, reflecting the Welsh government’s unique approach.
England: The lowest-income families in some areas pay no council tax, while others must pay up to £1,400, demonstrating the wide variation created by Council Tax Reduction schemes.
Early tasks for the new Scottish Government will include a further response to the independent review of Adult Disability Payment. The review has recommended much greater departures from Personal Independence Payment (the main UK disability benefit) than there have been to date. It will also want to deliver on the Scottish National Party’s manifesto commitment to a higher Scottish Child Payment of £40 per week for babies under one year old.
The new Welsh Government will be led for the first time by Plaid Cymru. The Senedd’s social security powers are currently comparable to an English local authority’s, but Plaid’s manifesto calls for the devolution of “full powers over welfare” and a pilot Welsh Child Payment.
At the same time, Reform UK, which has a more sceptical view of both social security spending and devolution, achieved the biggest gains in England’s local elections – and a considerable share of votes in Scotland and Wales.
Mike Brewer, of the Resolution Foundation, said: “Our research highlights the live issues for the freshly elected representatives taking their seats in the Scottish Parliament, Senedd and local government. The incoming Scottish and Welsh Governments have ambitions for social security that may challenge current arrangements.
"Any debate that emerges on what social security powers should be devolved and which governments or local authorities are doing 'better' on social security needs to be an informed one. Devolution provides an opportunity to try things out - in Safety Nets our role is to help everyone learn from the experiments that are taking place."
Anvar Sarygulov, Research Grants and Programme Manager at the Nuffield Foundation, said: “This important new study shows how social security is evolving across the UK and the impact this is having on people’s lives. By providing robust, independent evidence, the research helps ensure that debates about welfare reform are grounded in the realities facing families and highlights how learning from different approaches can improve support.”
First published: 21 May 2026