SPS academic involved in new major study on devolution and social security
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School of Social and Political Science (SPS) academic Dr Hayley Bennett will act as Co-Investigator in a new £1.1 million research project exploring the differences in how social security is designed and delivered across different parts of the UK.
The new multi-institutional partnership will map the nature, extent and impact of devolution on social security systems at national, regional and local levels. This will enhance understanding of the consequences for the millions of families across the UK whose experiences and outcomes differ depending on where they live. The project, ‘Social Security in a Devolved UK: realities, risks & opportunities for families’, is funded by the Nuffield Foundation and involves seven universities, along with policy partners The Child Poverty Action Group and Resolution Foundation.
Dr Hayley Bennett, Lecturer in Social Policy at SPS, will act as Scotland Lead for the project. She will oversee engagement with Holyrood and the Scottish Government and sit on the project's governance board. Dr Bennett is also co-lead on the project’s Workstream 3: ‘Disentangling localised discretionary support’. This workstream will investigate the consequences of the UK government devolving billions of pounds of support to the city-region and local government level since 2013. This localisation represents a large shift in the front line of the UK welfare state and changes understanding of the role and nature of the social security system. It also raises questions around spatial inequalities and social justice, including who should get what and why.
Dr Bennett said: “As we look across the next decade and beyond, we need to do all we can to improve our social security system, and to better understand the consequences of increased devolution. We also need to learn from place-based differences in social security that already exist so that policy change can be grounded in an understanding of what works, in what contexts, and for whom.
“Our programme of research responds to and will directly meet these needs, and – by so doing – has scope to improve policymaking and, subsequently, the lives of millions of families across the UK. With various elections and potential political changes in the upcoming months, it’s a hugely important time to examine these issues.”