Social security in a ‘shared space’: policy autonomy and interdependence in the UK

As in many federal and multi-level states, social security and the benefits system remained primarily the responsibility of the UK Parliament and Government when devolution was introduced to Scotland and Wales. Even in Northern Ireland, where social security was historically devolved and remained so when devolution was reintroduced as part of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the UK Government’s fiscal guarantees for parity of provision ensured that the systems remained broadly aligned. This was in contrast with the greater role for devolved institutions in other areas of the welfare state. The devolution of some aspects of social security to Scotland in the wake of the independence referendum was thus a marked departure from practice, opening up the prospect of a distinctive welfare regime emerging in Scotland. Yet, the 2016 reforms brought not just new powers and responsibilities, but new complexities and interdependencies. This article examines the increasing complexity of the social security landscape in the UK. It suggests that the increased law-making autonomy in the wake of the partial devolution is constrained by the fiscal, policy, and administrative interdependence between the Westminster and devolved governments, compounded by the absence of a system of cooperative governance to manage that interdependence within an evolving social union.