Social Security Scotland has published its Annual Report and Accounts, showing that it made £1.9 billion in payments to people in Scotland from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024.

The payments were made across 14 Scottish benefits, seven of which are not available anywhere else in the UK.

This includes £942 million for Adult Disability Payment, which is now paid to more than 300,000 people in Scotland.

Social Security Scotland also paid £463 million to families on low incomes via five family payments — including the Scottish Child Payment, which was benefitting more than 329,000 children and young people by the end of March 2024.

Winter Heating Payment was paid to 400,000 people by February this year and the Carer Support Payment began a phased rollout in the Western Isles, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross last year and is now available across Scotland.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville said:  “We are committed to tackling poverty and supporting people throughout Scotland. At a time when families are struggling with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, we have been delivering 14 benefits, seven of which are only available in Scotland.

“Winter Heating Payment is a reliable annual payment to people on low incomes in Scotland, including pensioners receiving Pension Credit. We continue to offer vital support to families through our five family payments, including Scottish Child Payment which was helping to support more than 329,000 children and young people by the end of financial year 2023-24.

“We are focused on ensuring people get the money they are entitled to and that we deliver these payments while treating people with dignity, fairness and respect.”

Social Security Scotland Chief Executive David Wallace said: “While our service has continued to expand significantly, our clients remain at the heart of everything we do.

“We have focused on delivering new payments to people across Scotland including Carer Support Payment, while ensuring we give our clients an improved experience. This year, we have reduced call waiting and processing times and made it easier for people to submit supporting information for disability benefit applications.

“As the number of people we serve grows, I am delighted we have maintained high client satisfaction rates with our annual Client Survey showing 90% of people who received a payment from us saying their overall experience was ‘very good’ or ‘good’.”