• Membership changes

• Introduction
  • Evidence gathering

• Background
  • Scottish Government position on social security spend

• Part 1: Scottish Government's resource budget, Medium Term Financial Strategy and Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan
  • Resource budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy
  • Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan
  • Effectiveness of FSDP
  • Trends in devolved social security spend
  • New social security spend in 2025-26 and 2026-27
  • Spend on devolved social security in 2026-27
  • Scottish Government's resource budget, Medium Term Financial Strategy and Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan: conclusions and recommendations

• Part 2: Forecast growth in devolved social security spend
  • Support for current and increased levels of devolved social security
  • Cash payments versus public service provision
  • Sustainability of social security spend
  • Analysis of administrative spending
  • Forecast growth in devolved social security spend: conclusions and recommendations

• Part 3: Taxation
  • Progressive taxation
  • Different types of taxation
  • Fiscal flexibility
  • Scottish Government position
  • Taxation: conclusions and recommendations

• Part 4: Effectiveness of devolved social security spend: reducing child poverty
  • Child poverty targets and the Scottish Child Payment
  • Cost effectiveness of the Scottish Child Payment
  • Recipients above the poverty line
  • 'Cliff edge' for those in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment
  • Scottish Government evaluation of the ‘five family payments’
  • Suggested measures to tackle child poverty
    • JRF's Meeting the Moment report
  • Data gaps
    • Evaluating the impact of interventions
    • Better availability and linkage of data
    • Committee inquiry into the effectiveness of the Scottish Child Payment
  • Effectiveness of devolved social security spend: reducing child poverty: conclusions and recommendations

• Part 5: Effectiveness of devolved social security spend: disability benefits
  • Value of payments to recipients
  • Growth in disability benefit caseload and spending
  • Independent Review of ADP
    • Recommendations
    • Review periods
  • Improving policy making
  • Support for specific groups
  • Effectiveness of devolved social security spend: disability benefits: conclusions and recommendations

• Part 6: Support for Carers
  • Increase in eligibility
  • Unpaid care work
  • Adequacy
  • Support for carers: conclusions and recommendations

• Part 7: Take-up rates and Minimum Income Guarantee
  • Social security take-up rates
  • Pension Credit
  • Scottish Government comment
  • Minimum Income Guarantee
  • Take-up rates and Minimum Income Guarantee: conclusions and recommendations

• Part 8: Prevention
  • Scotland's Population Health Framework
  • Beyond social security
  • Employability
  • Scottish Government's Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan
  • Prevention: conclusions and recommendations

• Part 9: Universal versus targeted benefits
  • Universality
  • Targeting
  • Proportionate universalism
  • Scottish Government position
  • Universal versus targeted benefits: conclusions and recommendations

• Part 10: UK Government policy choices
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Winter Fuel Payment
  • UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024
  • Suggested improvement
  • Scottish Government view
  • UK Government policy choices: conclusions and recommendations

• Annexe A: Social Security Scotland benefits and forecast spend in 2026-27

• Annexe B: written and oral evidence

• Annexe C: Extracts from the minutes