Question reference: S5W-35410
- Asked by: Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 22 February 2021
-
Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 1 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the cost of the agency agreements between the Scottish and UK governments for the continued delivery of devolved benefits by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Answer
Agency agreements are necessary to ensure a safe and secure transition while Social Security Scotland is still building capacity; these costs reflect the Department for Work and Pensions’ costs of delivery and are not directly controllable by Social Security Scotland. The actual agency agreement costs that the Scottish Government accepts from the Department for Work and Pensions are subject to negotiation, and these are scrutinised in detail.
In 2021-22 we expect the costs of Agency Agreements with the Department for Work and Pensions to be around £84 million. These costs will reduce over time as Social Security Scotland begins to fully administer more benefits and reaches steady state.
Agency Agreements represent value for money and fairness to the taxpayer. Under HMT’s Managing Public Money guidance, DWP are prohibited from charging another government department for services delivered with a view to making a profit.
Table 5.10 of the Programme Business Case provides a view of the forecast costs of Agency Agreements, and these will be updated in due course.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/social-security-programme-business-case-executive-summary/