Question reference: S6W-01469
- Date lodged: 14 July 2021
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Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 26 July 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the progress of the DWP and Social Security Scotland's development of a shared protocol and agreement to ensure swifter data sharing on a benefit-by-benefit basis.
Answer
Data sharing between the UK Government’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Social Security Scotland is an important element of the current devolution settlement. It allows the Scottish Government to top up reserved benefits in line with the provisions of the Scotland Act 2016. It also ensures that both governments can correctly pay people the “passported” benefits to which they are entitled because they are receiving other reserved and devolved benefits. As we will be required to share data for as long as the current devolution settlement exists, a shared protocol is desirable given the multiple complex interactions between devolved Scottish and reserved UK benefits and entitlements.
We have begun work with the DWP on a joint data strategy to inform our approach to data sharing in future.