Question reference: S5W-35581
- Asked by: Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 26 February 2021
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported increase in the number of benefit claimants because of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether the 2021-22 Budget will reflect any additional costs for Social Security Scotland to respond to any increase in (a) benefit claim payments and (b) the number of staff required by the department.
Answer
The budget allocated for benefit expenditure is based on the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s forecast. The most recent Scottish Fiscal Commission publication ( Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts | Scottish Fiscal Commission ), sets out the changes to forecasted benefit expenditure due to COVID-19.
Social Security Scotland’s proposed 2021-22 administration budget allows for any additional workload for those benefits that we administer.