Exclusive:Poverty experts slam government's 'concerning' response to £1.3m Minimum Income Guarantee report
Insiders said the Scottish Government commissioned a Minimum Guarantee Report without the appetite to implement it
Poverty experts have slammed the Scottish Government’s response to a £1.3 million report into radical overhaul of the welfare system.
SNP ministers commissioned an expert group to explore plans for a Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG).
As revealed by The Scotsman in August, this was despite insiders saying the government had no real appetite to introduce the scheme, which would give a definite basic income for every Scot.
Now benefits secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has published her response to the review - but fails to give clear backing to the policy.
Peter Kelly, chief executive of the Poverty Alliance, was one of a group of experts leading the review.
He said a Minimum Income Guarantee could “provide the secure foundation that we all need to build a better life for ourselves and our families, and a better future for all of us”.
Mr Kelly added: “The Expert Group’s roadmap shows how we can make that policy a reality – with time, investment and action.”
However, he said, “the Scottish Government’s response to that roadmap makes for disappointing reading”.
Critics said Ms Somerville’s response gives “no sense” of whether any of the expert group’s recommendations will be taken forward.
Mr Kelly added: “There’s no commitment to the Minimum Income Guarantee as a long-term vision of the type of society we want to be.
“Most concerningly, the response fails to put forward an alternative vision for the change people across Scotland desperately want to see.”
Findings from the Minimum Income Guarantee Expert Group include giving single parents in Scotland up to £28,000 in benefits without working.
A highly involved piece of work, it took from August 2021 to May 2025 - three years and 10 months - to develop the findings.
Currently, the Holyrood government does not have devolved all the reserved powers necessary to introduce a Minimum Income Guarantee.
The Scottish Government acknowledged this, with a spokesman saying: “As the Expert Group recognises, the UK Government retains powers over a number of key policy levers which would deliver a full Minimum Income Guarantee including the minimum wage and Universal Credit.”
The report, which was drafted by representatives from 16 groups such as social mobility organisations, universities and charities, recommended that the base income be £11,500 for a single adult.
A couple would receive £20,000 while a couple with one child or a lone adult with two children would receive £28,000.
As their earnings rose to exceed the minimum income threshold, the payments would taper off.
The group laid out a series of plans to be rolled out over the next decade that would pave the way for Scotland to introduce a minimum income guarantee from 2036.
A minimum income scheme has been proposed for some years in Scotland, with supporters saying it would provide dignity for families and lift children out of poverty.
Opponents, however, claim it is too expensive a policy to implement and raise concerns that people would not work if they did not have to earn additional income.
The Scotsman revealed the cost of the report using freedom of information legislation.
The Scottish Government initially declined The Scotsman’s FOI request but, on appeal, gave a partial response.
A Scottish Government spokesman said the report “offers a number of positive ideas to progress fairness and equality”.
He said: “We share the same vision as the Expert Group - a Scotland that has accessible public services with an improved and reliable safety net, where people feel fulfilled and are able to participate fully in society.
“We will continue to make progress through our current policy choices and commitments to tackling poverty and inequality.”
The spokesman went on to list various anti-poverty measures such as free bus-travel for under-22s and more than doubling the Scottish Child Payment.
He added: “As a result, child poverty levels in Scotland have fallen while they have risen in the rest of the UK.”
Mr Kelly said the Expert Group had now provided a “road map” for any political party “brave enough” to pick up.
He added: “As we move toward the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, political parties need to be inspired by the possibility those recommendations hold for a Scotland free from poverty.”
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