Devolved Social Security assistance: up-rating for inflation in 2024-2025

5. Devolved Assistance that continues to be delivered by the DWP

5.1 Scottish Ministers have legal, policy and funding responsibility for other forms of assistance that are delivered by the DWP through agency arrangements. Carer's Allowance has been devolved since September 2018 with Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Severe Disablement Allowance and the Industrial Injuries Scheme (comprising of the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits and the Industrial Death Benefit) devolved since 1 April 2020. Although there is not a requirement under the 2018 Act to include these forms of assistance in this report, they have been included to help provide a more complete view of the steps taken by the Scottish Government to investigate the impact of inflation for all devolved payments.

5.2 While there are agency agreements in place for DWP to administer existing claims, the Scottish Ministers are committed to annually up-rate the assistance at the same rate as applied by the DWP. This is the annual September CPI rate with the payment rounded to the nearest 5p, with the exception of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit where the 100% degree of disablement entitlement is rounded to the nearest 10p and the lower rates rounded to the nearest 1p while the Industrial Death Benefit is normally up-rated through the triple lock guarantee, which ensures that pensions increase by the greatest of average earnings, prices as measured by CPI or 2.5%. In 2024-25, the UK Government will increase the Industrial Death Benefit by 8.5%, in line with the increase in Average Weekly Earnings in the year to May-July 2023.

5.3 Social Security Scotland will progressively take over administering these benefits from the DWP but until Scottish Government regulations are in place, so that up-rating can be achieved through the 2018 Act, the Scottish Ministers will be responsible for up-rating these forms of assistance, where required, through powers under UK legislation.

5.4 The Scottish Ministers will be responsible for bringing forward legislation to up-rate Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Severe Disablement Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit and Industrial Death Benefit in April 2024.