The Scottish Commission on Social Security (SCoSS) provides independent scrutiny of the Scottish social security system.  SCoSS is separate from the Scottish Government and from the Parliament. We carry out our work independently but we work closely with both the Government and Parliament.

Our functions are set out in Section 22 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 and are principally as follows—

1. Scrutinising draft regulations and publishing reports with recommendations to the Scottish Government.
2. Reporting to the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament on whether the expectations in the Social Security Charter are being met. The Scottish Government published the Social Security Charter in January 2019. It is called ‘Our Charter’.
3. Responding to requests from the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government to report on any matter relevant to social security when asked by either of them.

We want a robust, effective, efficient Scottish social security system that meets its full potential to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland. We want to help achieve this by providing independent expert advice.

We are independent from Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament. We scrutinise impartially on the basis of evidence, while actively seeking out and carefully considering different views and perspectives.

We make sure human rights, the social security principles and the lived experience of people who use or need to use social security are at the heart of our work.

We provide expert, thorough scrutiny which helps people and the Scottish Parliament hold the Scottish Government to account.

We make a real difference to the lives of individuals by giving practical advice for improving social security regulations and making sure the commitments made in the Charter are fully realised.