Reports

Various reports from organisations

Pushed into the wrong job?

Assessing the link between conditionality and poor quality employment By Max Mosley, Tom Stephens 10 February 2026 Successive central governments have designed benefit programmes with high levels of conditionality. The programmes have required claimants to actively look for work, in order to keep accessing social security. While some level of conditionality is not unusual compared to other […]

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jrf

UK Poverty 2026

Date published: 27 January 2026 This report sets out the nature of poverty in the UK, and evaluates changes under the last Conservative-led Government. It also sets out the scale of action necessary for the current Government to deliver the change it has promised. This report studies a range of data sources and published insights

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improvement service

Community-based advice reduces stigma and improves wellbeing

Delivering money and welfare rights advice in community settings positively impacts individuals’ financial wellbeing, finds a new report from the Improvement Service. This is particularly true for people who are less likely to engage with services delivered in more traditional settings. The report, Community-based Advice Provision in Scotland, looks at how councils are supporting individuals to

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jrf

Delivering dignity?

Early lessons from the introduction of Adult Disability Payment in Scotland 8 December 2025 When the Scottish Government introduced the Adult Disability Payment (ADP) in 2022 to replace Personal Independence Payment (PIP), it set out to do things differently. [i] Although the two benefits have the same eligibility criteria and are paid at the same rates, Social

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poverty alliance

Poverty Alliance: 2026 Scottish Parliament election manifesto

In Scotland, we believe in justice and compassion. We want to see everyone with enough to live a decent life – and the opportunities to flourish – through an economic system that prioritises people and the planet. We know that this is possible. That is why the 2026 Scottish Parliament election is so important. With

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citizens advice scotland

Insights into ADP: Evidence from CAS

Insights into Adult Disability Payment: Evidence from Citizens Advice Scotland Citizens Advice Scotland has today released the second edition of Insights into Adult Disability Payment: Evidence from Citizens Advice Scotland a short and important publication that both identifies the challenges facing disabled people across Scotland and explores solutions.     Key findings from the briefing include:   Our advice

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lse

Investing in Children: Early findings on the difference the Scottish Child Payment makes to child well-being

Published 8 December 2025 Recent years have seen a divergence in welfare of Scotland compared to other UK nations. The Scottish Government has used its devolved powers on social security to introduce a package of five Family Payments, the centrepiece of which is the new Scottish Child Payment (SCP). Introduced in February 2021, and increased

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lse

Does The Scottish Child Payment Weaken Work Incentives?

Published 10 December 2025 The Scottish Child Payment (SCP), introduced in 2021, provides cash transfers for families with children receiving Universal Credit (UC) or related benefits. The eligibility link to UC can create a potential cliff-edge at that threshold of eligibility – the decision to work one more hour can potentially result in a large

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scss

Building an Inclusive Social Security System: Responding to Communication Needs

Social Security Scotland has reaffirmed its commitment to fairness, dignity, and respect in response to the Scottish Commission on Social Security’s (SCoSS) scrutiny report on how the agency meets the expectations of Our Charter for people with communication needs. Key Findings from SCoSS The Commission found that clients with communication needs generally have better experiences

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improvement service

Reports show benefits of money and welfare rights advisors in primary care settings

The Improvement Service have published four further reports that consider the effectiveness of Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships (WAHPs) as part of an evaluation of the ‘Test and Learn’ Programme which was funded by the Scottish Government. The reports consider in more detail the results of the interim report that was published in August 2024.

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