This project will explore the extent of the devolution of social security within the UK and the realities, risks, and opportunities this poses for families with dependent children.
This work is timely, important and much needed. We are very grateful to Nuffield Foundation for funding it.
The UK spends more on working-age social security than education, or the police and defence combined. Social security is the policy instrument most directly able to reduce poverty. However, discussions about the future of UK social security often fail to acknowledge the extent, nature, and significance of devolution in policy design, delivery, and implementation.
Devolution has created significant place-based variations in social security law, policy, and practice. Scotland and Northern Ireland administrations deliver near-universal mitigation of selected cuts to benefits. Scotland has introduced new benefits, such as the Scottish Child Payment, and Wales is exploring increasing their devolved powers on social security.
And at the local level, a patchwork of discretionary schemes means there are real differences in the support someone can receive based on where they live.
The Labour Government has shown a commitment to doing more to facilitate collaboration between policymakers working at different levels of government, and has announced plans to increase devolution within England, and to promote the devolution of employment support.
They have also committed to reforming Universal Credit, and here there are opportunities to learn from differences in how this benefit has been rolled out across the UK.
Our project will build new evidence and share this directly with policymakers.
Our research team includes academics from six universities across all four UK countries, an Experts-By-Experience panel, the Resolution Foundation, and Child Poverty Action Group.
Our research will be conducted in two phases, and will include a range of methods and approaches.