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MSPs have unanimously passed legislation to establish a devolved Scottish social security system.

Holyrood is being given responsibility for 11 benefits, including disability living allowance, personal independence payments and carer's allowance.

The benefits are relied upon by 1.4 million people across the country, and are worth about £3.3bn a year.

The devolution of the powers is being staggered, with the benefits system due to be fully operational by 2021.

The payments will be administered by a new Scottish social security agency, headquartered in Dundee and Glasgow, with 1,500 jobs split across the two sites.

A further 400 people will be employed at smaller sites across the country.

The Scottish government has described the changes as a "golden opportunity" to set up a system with "respect and dignity" at its heart.

And it has said the benefits agency will be "a new public service of which we can all be proud", and which will "deliver for the people of Scotland".

Image caption The bill was unanimously supported by MSPs, who gave Jeane Freeman a standing ovation

It estimates that 500,000 people or families are currently not claiming benefits they are entitled to, and is to spend £300,000 to encourage take-up.

The benefits which are being devolved from Westminster to Holyrood are:

Personal Independence Payments

Carer's Allowance

Attendance Allowance

Disability Living Allowance

Winter Fuel Payments

Cold Weather Payments

Severe Disablement Allowance

Industrial Injuries Disability Benefits

Funeral Expenses Payments (to be replaced by Funeral Expense Assistance)

Sure Start Maternity Grant (to be replaced by Best Start Grant)

Discretionary Housing Payments

Social Security Minister Jeane Freeman said the passage of the bill was "a historic day" for Holyrood, marking the "biggest transfer of powers since devolution began".

She told MSPs: "We have a new public service for the people of Scotland, a principle now enshrined in legislation. That, I believe, is something we should all be proud of.

"This bill has been an opportunity to set up a new service and to do things differently, to remake the system in a way that better fits with the ambition we have for ourselves, as a parliament and as a country. Our shared ambition to live with dignity, fairness and respect."

She said she was "proud and honoured" to move the bill for final approval.

Image caption Jeane Freeman said it was a "historic day" for Holyrood

Despite their overall support, opposition parties pressed for changes to some sections of the bill. There was four hours of debate and voting on amendments at Holyrood prior to the final debate.

The Scottish government moved to remove a limit on how long a terminally-ill patient must have left to live before they are eligible for fast-tracking to the highest rate of disability benefits.

MSPs also agreed to press for split payments of Universal Credit between a couple, something which ultimately is in the hands of the Department of Work and Pensions, although a Labour bid to boost child benefit by £5 was rejected by 97 votes to 26.

'Historic day'

The bill was backed by all opposition parties, with the final vote ending 123 to zero.

Scottish Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins agreed it was a "historic day" for Holyrood, paying tribute to Ms Freeman and civil servants who worked on the bill.

He said there was an "awful lot" of work still to be done, with "significant challenges" including the "inevitable labyrinth of shared rule" between Scottish ministers, the DWP and local authorities.

Scottish Labour's Mark Griffin said the "important piece of legislation" had been made stronger by the amendments suggested by MSPs and third sector groups during the bill's progress through Holyrood.

He said the passage was "very much the beginning of a process full of questions", but said it could result in a "functioning social security system which invests in the people of Scotland".

Green MSP Alison Johnstone said the move was a fundamental chance to "do things differently" from the current system, which she said was "fostering insecurity" for too many people.

And Lib Dem Alex Cole-Hamilton said the new system should focus on "restoring humanity", putting claimants "in the driving seat" and recognising the difficulties they face.

It has been estimated that the new system will cost in the region of £308m to set up. Ms Freeman has said she does not expect that figure to increase, despite warnings from Audit Scotland that plans are at a "critical point".</s>Scotland has taken control of its welfare system in a transfer of power from Westminster that campaigners have praised for recognising social security as a human right.

The first devolved welfare system also offers automatic split payments of universal credit to protect women’s financial autonomy and aims to end unnecessary disability assessments.

As the Holyrood parliament unanimously passed the final stage of the social security (Scotland) bill on Wednesday evening, the director of the Poverty Alliance, Peter Kelly, said it offered the possibility of the new welfare system playing a very different role in Scotland.

“With almost daily reports of the impact of the cuts to social security at the UK level, such as the freeze on levels of many UK benefits or the roll out of universal credit, it is time to show that a different approach is possible.”

The new powers, part of the package promised to the Scottish parliament after the 2014 independence referendum, account for 15% of Scotland’s total benefits bill and will affect 1.4 million people.

Eleven benefits are being wholly transferred, including disability living allowance and personal independence payments, along with the opportunity to top up existing payments and create new ones.

The bill was passed after an intense afternoon of debate, which showcased the cross-party and third sector expertise that has shaped the landmark bill, alongside the input of ordinary Scots canvassed in a country-wide consultation. 



There were a number of significant last-minute amendments to the legislation, including the removal of any time limit on terminal illness. It was brought by the social security minister, Jeane Freeman, after senior medical professionals called for its inclusion. Current rules for disability benefits and universal credit say a patient must have six months or less to live before their illness is classed as terminal.

The feminist campaign group Engender welcomed the success of Labour MSP Mark Griffin’s amendment on split payments, in particular for those 89% of domestically abused women who experience financial restrictions by their partner. 



Both the Poverty Alliance and the Child Poverty Action Group Scotland called on Freeman to reconsider Griffin’s unsuccessful amendment to top up child benefit by £5 a week, which he insisted would lift 30,000 children out of poverty. The Scottish government argued that the framework bill for the new powers was not the appropriate place for such a change.

Presenting the final bill to Holyrood, Freeman said: “The devolution of social security represents the greatest single increase in the responsibilities of this parliament since devolution. Today we write a new chapter in our history, a system built for the people of Scotland, designed in partnership with the people of Scotland, a system with dignity, fairness and respect at its heart, a system quite unlike any other that has gone before.”

The new system will include an unprecedented degree of independent scrutiny, put in place after anti-poverty groups expressed concerns about the extent to which the detail of new benefits is being left to regulations, rather than included within primary legislation, which could make it easier for subsequent governments to cut payments or change eligibility criteria.
Scotland's Parliament approves a bill devolving authority for social care payments. The bill arranges staggered introduction with complete devolution by 2021 and formation of a new agency to administer it.