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Good morning, minister. A number of stakeholders have welcomed the uprating as a minimum required action but have called for payments to be increased further to address the level of inflation and so on. Given the cost of living crisis, is it time for a review of the adequacy of benefit payments? I have another question along similar lines, although I recognise the difficulty of increasing payments, given that we live within a fixed budget.

I have a question about the high costs of food and energy. Is £4.95 a week an adequate rate for best start foods, and is £55.05 an adequate rate for the winter heating payment, given what you have just told us about payments being more than they are in the rest of the UK or not existing in the rest of the UK?

Thank you very much, minister. I suspect that the recipients of the payment will be welcoming it. Can you, as the minister for social security, guarantee to us that you will be arguing your case with the finance secretary, whoever that may be in the future, that this is a priority whenever any money becomes available from the Scottish Government?

I appreciate that it is difficult, but what you seem to be saying is that the way in which it is being done is for the benefit of the system as opposed to the benefit of the individual. I am not criticising; I understand how difficult it is. You touched on trying to get some mechanism outside of a particular month. Just now, we seem to be particularly badly hit—I mean the UK—by inflation that, it is generally accepted, is down to Brexit. Is there a way in which such circumstances could be taken into account, or any flexibility to include in the system an increase in support over a period, even if inflation starts to fall?

That is good. Thank you very much for that.

May I ask one final question, convener? Thank you for your patience, Ms Howard. Does your organisation have any input to how those decisions will be made? Does the commission have any way to input what it thinks is a sensible suggestion for a way forward?

Good morning. Obviously, inflation is very high. It is expected to fall rapidly, but it is still likely to be higher in the UK than in the rest of Europe. What are the implications of that for benefits and the uprating policy? How will that affect people who need Government support.

The reference month on which the uprating is based and how that will affect payments over the coming period is a lucky dip. The example that you gave would be an advantage for the people receiving uprated benefits. What disadvantages do you see in having a single reference month? Has your organisation been able to feed into the system that is used in any way?

Yes. As Mr Pybus said, those under 25 may

“get less money, yet their energy bills are exactly the same.”—[Official Report, Social Justice and Social Security Committee, 22 September 2022; c 31.]

Has the Scottish Government carried out any analysis of the impact of the UK Government welfare policies on poverty levels in Scotland?

Good morning, cabinet secretary and officials.

Almost all the budget growth in this portfolio is from the £1.2 billion—30 per cent—increase to the forecast spend in social security benefits, which is mainly a result of an increase for personal independence payment and ADP, the increase to Scottish child payment and the increase in benefits in line with inflation.

Can you tell me a bit more about why the Scottish Government made those choices? Why did it decide to increase benefits in line with inflation and increase the Scottish child payment by 150 per cent? Why is it spending more on ADP in comparison with what was spent on PIP?