Social Security

(asked on 11th March 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to meet the ministers with responsibility for welfare reform and benefit administration from the devolved nations.


This question was answered on 25th March 2020

Welfare reform, social security and benefit administration are reserved matters in England and Wales, transferred matters in Northern Ireland, and partially devolved in Scotland.

With respect to Scotland, the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare is a regular forum that allows the UK and Scottish Ministers to oversee the safe and secure transfer of the powers devolved through the Scotland Act 2016 that relate to social security and employability. It is co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People, and attended by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Discussions with Ministers in the Welsh Government take place on a more ad hoc basis, and focus largely on devolved areas relating to employability such as skills provision, but also to interactions between devolved matters and the social security system.

The Northern Ireland Executive has recently re-formed, and we will be discussing the arrangements for welfare reform there with the relevant Ministers.

Reticulating Splines