More than 700,000 people receive disability or carer benefits from Scotland’s devolved social security agency, it has been revealed.
Social Security Scotland provides the vast majority of the payments north of the border, with just 28 complex cases yet to be moved from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) attendance allowance scheme to the Scottish equivalent, which is expected in the coming weeks.
The process was done without forcing those in receipt of benefits to re-apply for the Scottish equivalent payments.
The agency has said it has hit its target of full case transfer by the end of the year.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Moving more than 700,000 benefits safely and securely from the DWP to Social Security Scotland was a huge undertaking that was essential to ensure carers and disabled people who need financial support are treated with the dignity, fairness and respect they deserve.
“We have also met our commitment to complete case transfer on time and on budget by the end of 2025.
“When developing our case transfer process, people told us about the stress and anxiety caused by DWP transitions where they had to apply for benefits again with no guarantee they would continue to be eligible.
“We’ve taken a different approach, transferring people’s benefit awards without requiring an application and ensuring no break in entitlement to protect people’s critical payments.
“We set out to deliver a fairer social security system starting from a position of trust, and the majority of clients have told us they were treated with kindness by staff during the process.”
