To ask the Scottish Government what monitoring Social Security Scotland undertakes of the impact of Best Start Foods cards.
Social Security Scotland and Scottish Government work together closely to monitor the impact of the devolved benefits.
The impact of Best Start Foods is measured in three ways: the Social Security Scotland Client Survey; the Social Security Scotland Client Panels Survey; and Scottish Government policy evaluation.
The most recent Client Survey findings are published online at https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/client-survey-2023-2024 and https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/client-survey-five-family-payments-december-march-2024.
The most recent Client Panels Survey findings are published online at https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/annual-client-panels-survey-2023.
In 2022 the initial evaluation of Best Start Foods was published online at https://www.gov.scot/publications/evaluation-best-start-foods/.
A further evaluation of the Five Family Payments is currently underway, which will provide quantitative evidence from a large scale survey of recipients on the impact of receiving Best Start Foods. The evaluation is expected to be published in Summer 2025.