£1.9 billion paid in support to people across Scotland

Our Annual Report and Accounts have been published. £1.9 billion has been paid to people in Scotland from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. The payments were made across 14 Scottish benefits, seven of which are not available anywhere else in the UK. 

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 over £5.2 billion in benefits across Scotland.   

The people supported by this money include carers, disabled people and families, young people starting jobs and people who need help paying for a funeral. 

Our annual Client Survey results have also been published. In total, 36,914 people who had applied for a Social Security Scotland payment responded.

90% of respondents who received a payment said that their overall experience was ‘very good’ or ‘good’.   

85% said their experience with our colleagues was 'very good' or 'good' and 89% felt that they were treated with kindness.

 95% of people with experience of Scottish Child Payment rated their overall experience as ‘very good’ or ‘good’.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said:    

“We are committed to tackling poverty and supporting people throughout Scotland. At a time when families are struggling with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, we have been delivering 14 benefits, seven of which are only available in Scotland.   

“Winter Heating Payment is a reliable annual payment to people on low incomes in Scotland, including pensioners receiving Pension Credit. We continue to offer vital support to families through our five family payments, including Scottish Child Payment which was helping to support more than 329,000 children and young people by the end of financial year 2023-24.”

“We are focused on ensuring people get the money they are entitled to and that we deliver these payments while treating people with dignity, fairness and respect.”    

Social Security Scotland Chief Executive, David Wallace, said:  

“While our service has continued to expand significantly, our clients remain at the heart of everything we do. 

“We have focused on delivering new payments to people across Scotland including Carer Support Payment, while ensuring we give our clients an improved experience. This year, we have reduced call waiting and processing times and made it easier for people to submit supporting information for disability benefit applications. 

“As the number of people we serve grows, I am delighted we have maintained high client satisfaction rates with our annual Client Survey showing 90% of people who received a payment from us saying their overall experience was ‘very good’ or ‘good’.” 

Published today

• Social Security Scotland 2023-2024 Annual Report and Accounts
• Client Survey for 2023-2024
• Charter Measurement Framework 2023-2024
• Scottish Child Payment: high level statistics to 31 March 2024
• Adult Disability Payment: high level statistics to 31 July 2024
• Child poverty CIA modelling: Keeping 100,000 children out of poverty