Scottish benefits claimants are already better-off than their English and Welsh counterparts and the gap is likely to continue growing, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found.
The IFS research shows that a range of changes, especially to income tax and Scottish child payment mean that whilst the richest 10% of households in Scotland will be £2,590 (2.1%) worse off in 2023/24 than they would be in England, the poorest 10% will be £580 (4.6%) better-off.
In addition, the IFS expects that differences between the assessment and reassessment systems for PIP and adult disability payment (ADP) will result in a higher proportion of claimants in Scotland getting disability benefits in the first place and keeping them for longer.
The IFS says that this difference will boost the incomes of people with low living standards because almost half the most materially deprived people in Scotland report being disabled. As a result, the difference in income between Scottish and English claimants is likely to grow.
You can read the full IFS report here.
