Striking differences in benefit entitlements across UK countries, study finds

Key Takeaways

• The emergence of “welfare nationalism” in the UK has created striking differences in benefit entitlement that result in a Scottish family on a low income receiving £15,000 a year more in state support than an identical household over the border in England.
• A typical out of work couple with four children would have received £22,000 a year benefit income in York, compared with £32,000 in Belfast and £37,000 in Glasgow, according to new research on the impact of devolved welfare approaches Other eye-catching divergences include benefit and grant entitlements that mean a baby in a family on universal credit in Scotland qualifies its parents for an additional £1,800 during its the first year of life, compared with England or Wales.
• Devolved opt-outs from the benefit cap, which limits total benefit income to out of work households, mean Scottish and Northern Irish families are potentially thousands of pounds a year better off than their English and Welsh equivalents.
• “More and more, the [social security] support people can receive when affected by things like low income, illness, disability or caring responsibilities depends on where in the UK they live,” said the study, published by the Safety Nets project.
• The study, the first detailed analysis of devolution on social security policy, said variations in entitlements across the four countries only marginally increased overall UK welfare spending, while the structure of the system remained broadly the same.