SNP ministers 'made an announcement without a policy' on two-child benefit cap

Ian Murray said the Scottish Government had not "fully developed" its thinking, and so was "not quite sure" what it is asking for. The Labour MP told journalists: "They've made an announcement without a policy."

The UK government previously pledged to work “constructively” with SNP ministers at Holyrood as they seek to end the two-child benefit cap for families north of the Border.

Scottish ministers are reliant on data from the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to enable them to mitigate the policy, which means families can only claim some benefits for their first two children and not for any subsequent youngsters.

Mr Murray told journalists: "The DWP are clear that nobody has asked them for any of this data before, so we're starting from a very low base in terms of what is required.

"The key thing being that the Scottish Government haven't really fully developed what they're thinking is, so they're not quite sure what they're asking for. The DWP are going to provide anything they need, but the policy development is obviously at such an early stage that they're not quite sure what data they require.

"The DWP have given a commitment to the Scottish Government that whatever policy comes forward, not only will they supply the data, they are also willing to help develop the policy through DWP officials and they will make sure it interacts properly with the UK welfare system."

The Scottish Secretary said the data would be "very complex", adding: "It's not just number of children, but it's family units, it's geography, it's everything else."

He said: "We couldn't be more supportive in terms of trying to help them [the Scottish Government] to deliver their policy outcome. But they have to develop the policy to tell the DWP what they need, what they want, what will help deliver it."

Mr Murray added: "As I understand the briefing from the DWP this week, they [the Scottish Government] have announced something without a policy, and that's the issue.

"This was their number one announcement from their Budget, and yet they've never before asked for any relevant data around the two-child cap. So they've made an announcement without a policy.

“What the DWP are essentially saying is ‘we'll provide you with all the support - not just in terms of data, but the development of the policy and the interaction with the benefits system - but you're going to have to tell us what you need and what the policy is to be before we can give you any data’."

The Scottish Fiscal Commission has said scrapping the two-child cap would cost the Scottish Government nearly £200 million a year by the end of the decade.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The social justice secretary wrote formally to the current UK Government after the Scottish Budget in order to progress our work to mitigate the two-child cap as soon as possible, and wrote again to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 16th December to set out specific data sharing requirements. This letter was copied to the Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray.

“Scottish Government officials continue to be in contact with the Department for Work and Pensions and we welcome the positive response from the UK Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall to the request for data sharing and joint working to deliver the systems and legislation necessary to mitigate the two-child cap in Scotland in 2026.”