To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it had with the United Kingdom Government at the British-Irish Council summit regarding ending the two-child benefit cap. (S6T-02237)

The First Minister had positive discussions with the Prime Minister at the British-Irish Council summit last week. They discussed a range of issues, including scrapping the two-child cap in Scotland—a measure that could lift around 15,000 children out of poverty.

Last week, our draft budget committed £3 million in the year 2025-26 to develop the systems that are required, but we need co-operation from the Department for Work and Pensions to move at pace. That is why I have also written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and I hope to meet her as soon as possible to discuss the matter further.

Scrapping the two-child benefit cap is the right thing to do and will lift 15,000 children in Scotland out of poverty. However, the Scottish Government requires data from the Westminster Government to make payments a reality. Is the cabinet secretary confident that the Westminster Government will provide that data?

Overall, under the previous Conservative Administration and the Labour Administration, we have had good relations with the DWP with regard to the devolution of social security benefits. However, it would be fair to say that relations were somewhat strained during winter fuel payment discussions. I believe that those good relations will stand us in good stead, and the discussions that the First Minister and the Prime Minister have had will, I hope, set the tone for both Governments. If we are at the point where Keir Starmer has said that he will not stand in the way of allowing Scotland to scrap the cap, it is perhaps ironic that Scottish Labour and Anas Sarwar might do so, unless they support our budget at the final vote.

I hope that there will be an easy data transfer from the Westminster Government. I also hope that Labour in Scotland will reflect on some of the things that have been said by the likes of the Child Poverty Action Group and that it will back the budget.

The right thing for the Westminster Government to do would be to scrap the cap right across the UK, which would be beneficial for children and families from Aberdeen to Aberystwyth. Has the Scottish Government been given any indication that the UK Government is willing to do so?

Kevin Stewart is quite right to point out that the best way to alleviate poverty in that area would be for the UK Government to do the right thing. It is one of the policy interventions that could make the biggest difference in tackling child poverty. Indeed, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that reversing the two-child limit would lift 540,000 children right across the UK out of absolute poverty. The lack of action in Rachel Reeves’s budget—and in further pronouncements from the UK Government—is therefore deeply disappointing.

Repeated calls on the UK Government, which has failed to take action, have resulted in absolutely no change in the Labour Government’s policy. The Scottish Government has decided that it cannot wait any longer, so this Government will take decisive action to scrap the cap.

How much will the policy cost? There is no mention of any amount in the budget documents. Will the cabinet secretary tell the Parliament how much it will cost?

The budget clearly sets out that there is £3 million within the 2025-26 budget to allow us to build the systems and scrap the cap. That obviously cannot be done at source, as we do not have the powers, but that is how we will mitigate it.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission, which is responsible for setting out the detail of how much social security will cost, has estimated the figure at £150 million. The commission will do further work on that and, as always, we will base the Government’s work on the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s work. That is an important investment in the people of Scotland that the Government will make.

I welcome the Scottish Government’s on-going positive engagement with the British-Irish Council, which is a very important body for promoting peace and stability across these islands. As a dual citizen, I take it extremely seriously, and I hope that all members take its work seriously, too.

I welcome the commitment made at the weekend by both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to work constructively with the Scottish Government as part of the wider reset of relations between the Governments. The cabinet secretary and I have previously discussed the new UK Government’s child poverty task force, which is examining a range of issues including universal credit and the two-child limit. I know that Scottish Government ministers and officials were at the task force meeting in Glasgow on 21 November with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall. Can the cabinet secretary confirm whether the Scottish Government discussed its policy proposal on the two-child limit at that meeting?

That was a public meeting, as the member will be well aware, and it would not be appropriate to get into discussions about what may happen within a Scottish Government budget at a public meeting in such a setting.

It is fair to say—and this should not come as a surprise to Paul O’Kane or the Labour Party—that, after the “change” election, when there was no change to the two-child cap; after the budget, when there was no change to the two-child cap; and after the launch of the child poverty task force, when there was no change to the two-child cap, it is the Scottish Government that has delivered the change that people were looking for.

That concludes topical question time.