Category Archives: Welfare and Social Policy

Writing at The Guardian, Nicola McEwen reflects on whether welfare in an independent Scotland would be more fair. At its height, the welfare state was a symbol of nationhood and solidarity that helped Scots to feel at home in Britain. … Continue reading →

Richard Parry addresses the evolution of Scottish welfare policy, noting that ‘it is clear that UK welfare reform policy has had the unintended effect of knocking social protection like a curling stone into the house of Scottish-driven policy debate’ At … Continue reading →

Nicola McEwen addresses the implications of independence on welfare provisions and reforms, and notes that shared service agreements recommended in the post-independence transition period might limit the degree of differentiation between the system of Scotland and the rest of the UK.  Welfare … Continue reading →

Dr Nicola McEwen, ESRC Senior Scotland Fellow, reflects on the welfare turn in the independence debate. She raises doubts about the prospects that the bedroom tax can play as important a role as the poll tax in the campaign for … Continue reading →

This post by the University of Stirling’s Dr. David Bell looks at the future costs of State Pensions in Scotland. Dr. Bell argues that given today’s revelations about the Scottish Government’s leaked paper, this is perhaps a useful time to … Continue reading →

As part of our series on social welfare and the independence referendum, Robin McApline, Director of the Jimmy Reid Foundation, welcomes that the referendum is focusing attention on prevailing levels of poverty and inequality in Scotland and the UK, and … Continue reading →

In the first of our series of analyses of the welfare state and the debate over Scotland’s constitutional future, Professor David Bell of the University of Stirling argues that transferring control of welfare to the Scottish Parliament would force all … Continue reading →