Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has said the draft Scottish Budget 2026-27 is a “landmark intervention” in the Scottish Government’s drive to tackle the root causes of child poverty and increase living standards.
Around £8 billion has been earmarked for the social justice portfolio, boosting support for vulnerable people and low-income families.
This includes plans to:
introduce a new premium element of the Scottish Child Payment in 2027- 2028, raising weekly payments for eligible parents of children under the age of one to £40 per child, benefitting around 12,000 children
create a new £50 million package to boost whole family support. This will further enhance existing support and will include help with transport, skills, and commits £20 million for third sector partners to deliver the support that people need in their communities
increase the Tackling Child Poverty Fund from £12.5 million to £61.5 million in 2026-27
invest £7.2 billion in social security, supporting disabled people, unpaid carers, those on low incomes and others, while also providing help with energy bills
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville met parents in receipt of any of the Five Family Payments, including the Scottish Child Payment, on Thursday (15 January) at Pilton Youth and Children’s Project, and said: “Eradicating child poverty is this government’s driving mission – no child should have their prospects hindered by circumstances beyond their control.
“This Budget is a landmark intervention in our work to tackle the root causes of poverty and reduce the pressure on household finances – from increased support for Scotland’s newest parents, to new initiatives to help increase household incomes and ensure families receive the right support at the right time.
“With more than £330 million committed across three years to our Tackling Child Poverty Fund and to investment in Whole Family Support, we are laying the groundwork to drive continued progress in the year ahead, breaking the cycle of poverty in Scotland for good.”
TRUSSELL: The new Universal Credit and PIP bill will push nearly HALF A MILLION more people into severe hardship and towards the doors of food banks
Additional protections for millions of vulnerable people on benefits are set to be written into law, under new measures being introduced to Parliament yesterday [18 June 2025].
New welfare legislation to ensure there are robust protections in place to support the most vulnerable and severely disabled.
Nearly 4 million households to benefit from uprating of Universal Credit standard rate, the largest, permanent real-terms increase to basic out of work support since 1980, according to the IFS.
More than 200,000 people with most severe, lifelong conditions to be protected from future reassessment for Universal Credit entitlement.
13-week period of financial support for those affected by PIP changes as part of upcoming welfare reforms.
Comes alongside £1 billion employment support package that will unlock opportunity and grow the economy as part of the Plan for Change.
The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill will provide 13-weeks of additional financial security to existing claimants affected by changes to the PIP daily living component, including those who their lose eligibility to Carers Allowance and the carer’s element of Universal Credit, according to the UK government – but charity Trussell says the bill will push nearly HALF A MILLION more people into severe hardship.
The 13-week additional protection will give people who will be affected by the changes time to adapt, access new, tailored employment support, and plan for their future once they are reassessed and their entitlement ends.
This transitional cover is one of the most generous ever and more than three times the length of protection provided for the transition from DLA to PIP.
The Labour government says it inherited a broken social security system, with costs spiralling at an unsustainable rate and millions of people trapped out of work. The case for change is stark:
Since the pandemic, the number of PIP awards has more than doubled – up from 13,000 a month to 34,000 a month. That is around 1,000 people signing on to PIP every day – that is roughly the size of Leicester signing up every year.
The surge has been largely by driven by a substantial increase in the number of people who report anxiety and depression as their main condition. Before the pandemic (in 2019), 2,500 people a month were awarded PIP for these conditions, this has more than tripled to 8,200 a month in 2023.
Almost 1 million young people – 1 in 8 – are not in education, employment or training.
1-in-10 people of working age are now claiming a sickness or disability benefit.
Without reform, the number of working age people on disability benefits is set to more than double this decade to 4.3 million.
Spending on working age disability and incapacity benefits is up £20 billion since the pandemic and is set to increase by almost that much again by the end of this Parliament, to a staggering £70 billion a year.
Labour says that’s why, through the introduction of this Bill; the government is fixing our broken social security system so it supports those who can work to do so while protecting those who cannot – putting welfare spending on a more sustainable path to unlock growth as part of our Plan for Change.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: “Our social security system is at a crossroads. Unless we reform it, more people will be denied opportunities, and it may not be there for those who need it.
“This legislation represents a new social contract and marks the moment we take the road of compassion, opportunity and dignity.
“This will give people peace of mind, while also fixing our broken social security system so it supports those who can work to do so while protecting those who cannot – putting welfare spending on a more sustainable path to unlock growth as part of our Plan for Change.”
As part of our (i.e. the Westminster govertnment’s) commitment to protect the most vulnerable and severely disabled, peace of mind will also be given to 200,000 individuals in the Severe Conditions Criteria group – individuals with the most severe and permanently disabling conditions who will never be able to work – as they will not be called for reassessed for Universal Credit (UC) under new legislation.
Those protected from reassessment will also be paid the higher rate of UC health top up of £97 per week, so they can live with dignity and security, knowing the reforms to the welfare system mean it will always be there to support them.
In the coming weeks, legislation will also be drafted for a Right to Try Guarantee. This will ensure that trying work will not, in and of itself, lead to a reassessment or award review, breaking down barriers to employment.
Reforms being delivered by the legislation introduced today go hand in hand with a £1 billion employment support package to support more people with health conditions back into work, unlocking opportunity and growing the economy as part of the Plan for Change.
Funding will offer personalised employment and health support for individuals on out of work benefits, with 500,000 people having already been supported into employment. This is a quadrupling the level of annual spend on supporting sick and disabled people into work, from the £275m in 2024/25 we inherited, to over £1bn in 2029/30.
Nearly 4 million households will also receive an income boost with the main rate of Universal Credit set to increase above inflation every year for the next four years – estimated to be worth £725 by 2029/30 for a single household 25 or over. This is around £250 higher than an inflation only increases.
The Bill will also rebalance Universal Credit rates by reducing the health element for new UC claims to £50 from April 2026, fixing a system which encourages sickness by paying health element recipients more than double the standard amount.
To open up opportunities to work, everyone affected by changes to the UC health element from April 2026 will be offered support from a dedicated Pathways to Work adviser, with 1,000 advisers in place across Britain.
All of those affected by reforms will be actively contacted and given the offer of a conversation about their support needs, goals and aspirations; offered one-to-one follow-on support, and given help to access additional work, health and skills support that can meet their needs.
The reforms build on the Get Britain Working White Paper that will overhaul Jobcentres, empower Mayors and local leaders to tackle inactivity, and deliver a Youth Guarantee so every young person is either earning or learning, as part of the Government’s ambition to deliver an 80% employment rate.
Additional information
The Bill will introduce a new additional eligibility requirement for the daily living component of PIP so that a minimum of 4 points must be scored on at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component. It will also rebalance Universal Credit.
Based on current forecasts, the rebalancing mean single households 25 or over, will see their standard allowance rise to around £106pw by the end of this parliament.
Current UC health top up is more than double the UC standard allowance for a single claimant.
There are 4 criteria for the healthcare professional to consider, all of which must apply for the claimant to meet the SCC, namely whether:
The individual’s level of function will always meet LCWRA
The individual’s condition will last for the rest of their life
There is no realistic prospect of recovery of function, and
The condition has been diagnosed by an appropriately qualified healthcare professional in the course of the provision of NHS services.
Scotland’s Social Justice Secretary: “Scrap damaging welfare reforms”
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has urged the UK Government to protect and enhance social security rather than making cuts.
The UK Government’s Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill has been published today, which includes the details of the first set of changes to ill-health and disability benefits. The Scottish Government will not mirror the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) changes in Adult Disability Payment in Scotland.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The UK Government’s proposed reforms will be hugely damaging to those who rely on social security support, particularly during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
“These plans have yet to be passed at Westminster, so there is still time for the UK Government to step back from this damaging policy and I strongly urge them to scrap their harmful proposals.
“The UK Government’s own analysis highlights how the proposals will push 250,000 more people across the UK into poverty – including 50,000 children. With around half of all children in poverty in Scotland living in a household with a disabled person, the changes threaten to undermine the progress that we are making to reduce child poverty, and the work of the UK Government’s Child Poverty Taskforce.
“That the UK Government is prioritising deep cuts to disabled people’s support is made even worse by their failure to abolish the two-child limit, which is estimated to have pushed more than 35,000 children into poverty since July last year.
“The reforms do not reflect the Scottish Government’s values. We will not let disabled people down or cast them aside as the UK Government has done. We will not cut Scotland’s Adult Disability Payment.
“The UK Government should follow our lead and protect the social security safety system, rather than dismantling it. If they do not, then disabled people can draw no other conclusion than the UK Government remain content to balance the books on the backs of the most vulnerable.”
Responding to the publication of the bill, Helen Barnard, Director of policy at Trussell said: “The UK government’s new Universal Credit and PIP bill, put before Parliament today, does almost nothing to ease the concerns of hundreds of the thousands of disabled people who fear that their social security support will be ripped from them.
“In fact, this bill will push nearly half a million more people into severe hardship and towards the doors of food banks.
“It is easy to see why so many MPs have voiced concerns about the damage this bill will do. What has been published today offers little for MPs deeply concerned about the impact of these cuts on their constituents.
“The last minute details on protections offer something for a small proportion of people, but even they will still see a real-terms cut. The reality of this bill is still record cuts in support for disabled people, and the biggest cuts to social security since 2015.
“It is shocking that MPs are being asked to vote through cuts without a full assessment of their impact, and especially worrying as we know that already three in four people referred to the Trussell community are disabled or live with someone who is.
“We know hunger and hardship already pushes up public service costs alone by £13.7 billion. MPs are being asked to vote for a Bill that will drive up hunger and hardship and undermine the UK government’s promises on economic growth and ending the need for emergency food.”
Today, the UK government published a bill, aimed at reforming the benefits system. Unfortunately, as it stands, this will be a disaster for disabled people – and is likely to worsen people’s living conditions, undermine their mental health, and increase the risk of suicide, says Mental Health Foundation.
These plans will not help reduce the number of disabled people out of work. Instead, they are counterproductive and cruel.
A more effective alternative for the government would be to move forward with its progressive policies that encourage people to return to work, such as the Right to Try scheme and improvements to support in job centres, and look at how well those work, without cutting support for disabled people.
More than £60 million for pilot projects focusing on essential services and eradicating child poverty
A new Fairer Funding pilot to deliver on the Scottish Government’s top priority of eradicating child poverty will provide additional multi-year funding in the form of 45 grants to organisations across Scotland.
The funding, subject to budget approval, will support projects in areas including health, education, poverty and culture and have a total value of £61.7 million in 2025-26 and £63.2 million in 2026- 27.
Speaking on her visit today to the Gathering, the largest third sector event in the UK, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “I know many charities, faced with rising costs and falling donations, need more security and stability to enable them to plan and develop.
“Child poverty, in particular, requires longer-term interventions to help achieve the solutions we want to see. For that, the third sector needs financial stability and certainty. That’s why I have prioritised delivering on our commitment to provide more multi-year funding where we can to support the vital work of the third sector in Scotland, as part of our fairer funding approach.
“The pilot is the first step in mainstreaming multi-year funding agreements more widely across the third sector. It will give organisations the ability to plan for the future and make the most of their resources.
“The pilot’s focus on grants connected to tackling child poverty and the delivery of frontline services to our communities will maximise the impact of longer term funding and support the delivery of our number one priority, eradicating child poverty.”
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) Chief Executive Anna Fowlie said: “The voluntary sector has a crucial role to play in delivering essential services across Scotland that people and communities rely on.
Multi-year funding models are vital, providing security to voluntary organisations and, crucially, allowing them to get on and deliver for people and communities.
“We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to piloting multi-year funding for a range of voluntary organisations across Scotland – a first step, we hope, towards rolling out Fair Funding principles to voluntary sector funding.”
Organisations to receive multi-year funding for 2025/26 and 2026/27
Social Justice
Scottish Refugee Council
Scottish Empty Homes Partnership
Homeless Network Scotland
Housing Options Scotland
Poverty Alliance
CentreStage – Social Innovation Partnership
COVEY – Social Innovation Partnership
Flexibility Works – Social Innovation Partnership
Heavy Sound – Social Innovation Partnership
MsMissMrs – Social Innovation Partnership
Street Soccer – Social Innovation Partnership
WorkingRite – Social Innovation Partnership
MCR Pathways
Economy and Gaelic
Scottish Mountain Rescue
Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
Youth Music Initiative
Sistema Scotland
Health and Social Care
Cruse Scotland Bereavement Helpline
Penumbra Self-harm support pilots
BASICS Funding PHEC BASICS Scotland
The Listening Service Samaritans
Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults
Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund Management
Autism Advice Line Scottish Autism
Young Scot Carer support funding
Active Play Development Programme Inspiring Scotland
Active Play Development Programme Actify
Community Food Networks Edinburgh Community Food
Community Food Networks Lanarkshire Community Food and Health Partnership
Community Food Networks Community Food Initiative North East
Community Food Networks Glasgow Community Food Network
Drugs Policy: Core Funding Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs
Drugs Policy: Family Recovery Initiative Fund Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder FASD Hub Scotland Service
Finance and Local Government
Planning Aid Scotland
Education and Skills
Dyslexia Scotland
Children’s Advocacy for Children’s Hearings
Who Cares Scotland
Inspiring Scotland
Children in Scotland Enquire National Advice and Information Service on Additional Support for Learning
Scottish Book Trust Bookbug
Access to Childcare Fund
Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators
Justice and Home Affairs
Victim Centred Approach Fund
Apex Scotland
Medics Against Violence
These pilots are in addition to the multi-year funding announced last week by Creative Scotland, which has been funded as part of a record £34 million uplift for culture in the draft 2025-26 Scottish Budget.
Wrap-around support delivering improved outcomes for families
Lessons learned from innovative work with families in Inverclyde are helping deliver new approaches to eradicating child poverty.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville will visit Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde in Greenock today (Wednesday 29th January) to see work funded under the Scottish Government’s Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund, which is helping to reshape services locally and elsewhere in Scotland.
The Social Justice Secretary will meet staff at the project as well as parents who have benefited from the work which focuses on providing early intervention to support families, particularly those with children under five and those affected by poor mental health.
Learning from the project is supporting Inverclyde’s Fairer Futures Partnership, which is supporting local services to test and improve how they deliver services to promote family wellbeing, maximise incomes and support people towards education and into sustained employment.
Ms Somerville said: “Eradicating child poverty is the Scottish Government’s top priority and a national mission.
“I’m keen to hear more about how whole family, person-centred support is being developed in Inverclyde through the Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund and the Fairer Futures Partnership.
“Through close partnership between Home-Start and Inverclyde Council, this project provides holistic support so that families can maximise their household incomes, and parents can improve their employment prospects through upskilling and volunteering. Putting this kind of vital support in place means that we don’t just help families in a crisis but enable them to thrive in the longer term.
“The Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund was set up to support local areas to test new ideas and innovate to improve local approaches to eradicating child poverty. I’m pleased to have the opportunity to learn more about how this funding is informing Inverclyde’s overall approach to supporting families out of poverty.”
Funding for local authorities to test and improve how they deliver wrap-around support for parents and families will be doubled to more than £6 million by the 2025-26 budget, helping expand work towards eradicating child poverty.
The Scottish Government’s Fairer Futures Partnerships will help test new approaches and identify lasting solutions rather than quick fixes, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said. Increased funding will allow Fairer Futures Partnerships to expand to more areas, supporting new approaches and holistic support.
On a visit to Irvine Royal Academy, Ms Somerville met parents and pupils and saw how North Ayrshire Council’s work is supporting families and informing the Fairer Futures programme to drive innovations in tackling child poverty.
At Irvine Royal Academy, where 32% of pupils are in receipt of free school meals, parents have been helped to maximise their incomes through welfare and debt advice and provided with support to find employment, while pupils run a ‘cost of the school day’ initiative to help ease the pressures on families.
Ms Somerville said: “Eradicating child poverty is the Scottish Government’s top priority and a national mission. But we can only do that by providing long-term, sustainable solutions, not quick fixes.
“The Scottish Child Payment, only available in Scotland, will this year help the families of over 330,000 children, and our five family payments could be worth more than £25,000 by the time an eligible child turns 16.
“We are extending provision of free school meals to pupils in P6 & P7 who receive the Scottish Child Payment, committing a further £14.3m to support the school clothing grant, and investing in the systems needed to end the two-child cap by April 2026.
“Through the Fairer Futures Partnerships we are working alongside local authorities, local communities and the Third Sector to test and improve how they deliver services to promote family wellbeing, maximise incomes and support people towards education and into sustained employment.
“I’m visiting Irvine Royal Academy to hear about some of the programmes and activity North Ayrshire Council has in place to tackle child poverty, support families and children in the local area with the cost of the school day and maximise incomes.
“The work with the school community is a great example of the results that can be delivered when services work together to provide wrap-around support for families. We want to explore how we can do this even better and that is why we have doubled our budget for Fairer Futures Partnerships to £6 million for the next financial year.”
North Ayrshire Council Leader Marie Burns added: “Tackling child poverty is the number one priority for our administration.
“We have the second highest rate of child poverty in Scotland and we are determined – with support from the Scottish Government and our hard-working partners in the public, private and third sectors – to improve life for families across North Ayrshire.
“We look forward to welcoming the Cabinet Secretary to Irvine to hear, first-hand, about some of the great work that is being done to support families who are struggling to make ends meet.”
