Scotland’s SNP government faces criticism for awarding a £35.4 million contract to Bengaluru-based Mphasis to manage its welfare benefits platform, which serves around two million citizens

TOI correspondent from London: The Scottish National Party, which governs Scotland, has come under fire from opposition ministers for handing a £35.4 million (almost Rs 450 crore) contract to an IT services company in Bengaluru.Under the contract, Mphasis will manage and maintain Scotland’s benefits management platform that delivers welfare benefits to around two million citizens across Scotland.Scotland first minister John Swinney has just returned from a trade mission to India where he was meant to be finding opportunities to support jobs and prosperity across Scotland, so news that he has instead sent lucrative work to India has sparked fiery criticism back home.Scottish Labour’s social justice spokesman, Mark Griffin, told the “Scottish Mail on Sunday”: “We should be using public contracts like this to boost local business and the Scottish economy and create jobs in Scotland. All too often, under SNP, good work has flowed overseas. SNP ministers should explain why this decision was made.”Shadow secretary of state for Scotland Harriet Cross posted on X: “They send millions to India to help administer their ballooning benefits system. This is taxpayers’ money. And they’re sending it abroad.”“Our ongoing relationship with Social Security Scotland allows us to support one of the country’s most critical public service platforms, and our commitment is to maintain continuity, improve operational efficiency and deliver meaningful outcomes for individuals and families across Scotland. The project aligns with our broader public sector focus; supporting govt organisations in running secure, reliable and future-ready digital services,” said Ashish Devalekar, executive vice-president and head of Europe, Mphasis.

A Social Security Scotland spokesperson told TOI: “Contracts are awarded in line with the Scottish govt’s procurement guidelines, which state that bids are to be treated equally, regardless of the location. This ensures that we award contracts to the bidder offering the best overall value. Investment in technology ensures we are future proof and adaptable to changing demands for our payments.”Sources in the Scottish govt told TOI that the platform “requires highly specialised expertise in a niche technology area with a relatively small number of suppliers globally able to demonstrate the scale, experience and capability required”.