Exclusive:Scottish Labour will not scrap £715m Social Security Scotland agency branded 'wasteful' by Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown accused SNP ministers of wasting more than £700 million on setting up a separate social security agency in Scotland.

Scotland’s welfare agency will not be scrapped by Scottish Labour if they win the next Holyrood election despite Gordon Brown saying setting up the body wasted more than £700 million.

The former prime minister and close ally of the current party leadership whose constitutional reforms form the basis of Labour’s manifesto claimed earlier in the week the SNP created Social Security Scotland for “status reasons” rather than for the delivery of benefits.

The agency is responsible for the delivery of key benefits such as the Scottish Child Payment and the Adult and Child Disability Payments.

However, it is understood Scottish Labour will not scrap the agency despite the high costs and repeated criticism of those costs from the party’s front benchers.

A Scottish Labour spokesperson said “Scottish Labour is committed to using the powers Scotland has to deliver a fairer social security system, which the SNP has failed miserably to do. They have let down the most vulnerable people and left taxpayers paying millions for a system rife with delays and disruption.”

Mr Brown, speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said the benefits delivered by Social Security Scotland should have been contracted to the Department for Work and Pensions to save money.

He said: “Why did the Scottish Government spend £700m in resources setting up a separate social security agency, when if you wanted a child poverty payment, it could be paid through the Department for Work and Pensions? I’ve never heard a satisfactory answer to that question.”

Scottish Conservative spokesperson for social security, Miles Briggs, said this was the latest example of Labour saying anything “to get into office”.

He said: “After the huge gaps between Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer’s positions on policy, Labour are now showing another split – this time with Gordon Brown. The problem isn’t just that no one knows where they stand, it’s that they’ll say anything they think will help them and change their position at the drop of a hat.

“That’s why, whatever their promises, no one should trust them not to do a deal with the SNP, who Scottish Labour MSPs already vote with much of the time. It’s clear they’ll say and do anything to get into office.”

The SNP’s social justice spokesperson, David Linden, said Labour were “all over the place on this issue” and repeated the criticism the Scottish party was a “branch office”.

He said: “Labour are all over the place on this issue. However, any pledges made by their Scottish branch office mean nothing unless their Westminster bosses, who back the two-child cap and the rape clause, agree.

"The SNP has fought long and hard to see extra tax and social security powers devolved to Parliament, which has allowed us to introduce game-changing benefits like the Scottish Child Payment, which is worth £25 per week per eligible child.

"However, for as long as the Tories and Labour support key powers remaining at Westminster, the Scottish Government will be forced to tackle poverty with one hand tied behind its back.

"At the next election, voters are crying out for real change and real hope. Only the SNP offer that alternative with independence – and not the Tory-lite tribute act being offered by Sir Keir Starmer."

Social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the First Minister had made it clear that tackling poverty was a “moral, social and economic imperative”. She said the Government would continue to take action to do so, including with the Scottish Child Payment.