Minimum Income Guarantee Expert Group: interim report - easy read

What we plan to do

We will:

Keep researching a Minimum Income Guarantee so we can make decisions and have a clear understanding of how we can introduce this in Scotland.

Speak to different people about what they need, especially groups that have protected characteristics. Protected characteristics are things such as age, disability, race, sex, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership, gender reassignment or religion or belief.

See what powers the Scottish Parliament has to make changes to work, social security, equality, tax and any other part of a Minimum Income Guarantee. Scotland is a devolved country which means it can make some decisions alone but others need to be made by the UK Government.

Find a better way to share information so that people know what help they can get and make applying for benefits easier.

Look at help that is currently available to see if that can be made better.

Look at how we can help people find a job that they like and that uses their skills. This work must pay fairly and be flexible.

See how the labour market could change to make jobs flexible, accessible, secure and pay fairly.

Think about how we support people that are in unpaid work like caring for someone with a disability.

Find out how much a Minimum Income Guarantee would cost to introduce and how the Scottish Government would pay for it.

Ask people in Scotland if they think a Minimum Income Guarantee is a good idea.

Decide how we can pilot a Minimum Income Guarantee. A pilot is a way to test an idea before it is available to everyone across Scotland.

Publish a second report in 2024 that will share more information about a Minimum Income Guarantee.