The Social Justice and Social Security Committee has responsibility for scrutinising disability benefits.
The Committee believed that people with a disability face extra living costs, compared to people who don't have a disability. However, definitive data was not available. To inform its scrutiny, the Committee commissioned research to find out what costs disabled people face in Scotland.
In March 2023, the Committee chose to have a piece of research undertaken jointly by the University of Strathclyde and the Poverty Alliance.
To prepare their findings, the researchers analysed publicly available data. They also worked with six disabled people living in Scotland to hear:
The researchers reported their findings to the Committee in March 2024.
Additional costs of disability in Scotland (320KB, pdf) posted 25 March 2024
After the researchers presented their findings to the Committee, letters requesting further information were sent to COSLA, the Scottish Government and the UK Government.
The inquiry was discussed at the following Committee meetings:
The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence during the inquiry:
Response from the Department for Work and Pensions regarding the Additional costs of disability in Scotland report
Letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice regarding the Additional costs of disability in Scotland report
Letter to the COSLA regarding the Additional costs of disability in Scotland report
Letter to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions regarding the Additional costs of disability in Scotland report