The Scottish Commission on Social Security (SCoSS) is an independent body set up in 2019 to provide independent scrutiny of the Scottish social security system and hold Scottish Ministers to account.
The Commission is separate from the Scottish Government and from the Scottish Parliament. It carries out its work independently of both, but works closely with both.
Information on the Commission’s functions are set out within Section 22 of the Social Security (Scotland Act) 2018. SCoSS’s role is made up of three parts:
1. Scrutinising draft regulations and publishing a report including recommendations to the Scottish Government.
2. Reporting on the Social Security Charter to the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament on whether the expectations in the Social Security Charter are being met. The Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland 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.