Social protection spending per head is the largest contributor to Scotland's higher spending and it's growing at a faster rate than the rest of the UK

Social Protection spending is the largest single contributor to Scotland's higher public spending per head.

Scotland's higher social protection spending per head is mostly but not entirely due to devolved policies. For example, state pension payments per head in Scotland are ~£125 higher than the UK average (presumably because Scotland has a higher share of pensioners than the UK overall).

However, the growth in the social protection spending gap in recent years is primarily due to the introduction of devolved benefits.

• Over the period from 2020/21 to 2024/55 social protection spending per head in Scotland grew by 11% in real terms, compared to 5% in the rest of the UK.
• This divergence in social protection spending per head between Scotland and the rest of the UK is illustrated in context here

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