THE report by the Scottish Government's expert panel on welfare, published on Tuesday, was thorough, and thoroughly impressive.

The group, headed by former Jobcentre Plus chief executive Darra Singh, was set up in January and asked to do three things: check the Scottish Government's sums on the cost of providing benefits in an independent Scotland, assess an independent Scotland's ability to deliver benefits and, lastly, give its views on immediate priorities for change.

The experts said the Government's sums were right – the overall cost of benefits and pensions currently distributed by the DWP in Scotland will be just over £20 billion by 2017/18. They also concluded that Scotland has ample capacity to deliver its own welfare system. Indeed, there are so many DWP staff located north of the Border that more than 40% of the claims they process come from people in England.

But as far as immediate priorities for change were concerned, the experts were noticeably cautious.

Their central recommendation was that an independent Scotland should seek to share the existing UK welfare system for a transitional period, since creating a stand-alone system straight away would pose a "serious risks" to pension and benefit payments. They made a strong case that it would be in everyone's interests but warned: "A downside of continuing to share services might be that an independent Scottish Government finds itself unable to implement some of its early priorities for change to the benefit system."

Their specific suggestions, based on the flexibility in Northern Ireland under the existing system, were (a) paying universal credit more frequently than monthly to help people manage their money, (b) splitting single household payments to ensure the whole family benefits and (c) paying housing benefits direct to landlords.

Conspicuous by its absence was any mention of the "bedroom tax", the deeply unpopular cuts to housing benefit for those deemed to have more rooms than they need. Needless to say the omission did not deter Nicola Sturgeon, who insisted an independent Scotland could abolish the bedroom tax while operating within the present DWP system, or Alex Salmond, who went one better by declaring during First Ministers Questions that he would axe it within a year if Scots voted for independence.

Pro-UK MSPs were so dismissive of the whole plan to share the welfare system ("nonsense on stilts," was Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont's verdict) they barely bothered to attack the First Minister over the specifics of his bedroom tax pledge. Nevertheless, you can bet that the "seamless" continuation of welfare payments and an end to the bedroom tax will be key referendum claim for the SNP from now until polling day.

If Scots do vote Yes, though, the plan doesn't take us far. Ms Sturgeon sees the transitional shared arrangements lasting until 2018 or thereabouts. After that, what?

There are technical questions – how much would it cost to develop systems to administer a new welfare system? How many of Scotland's current DWP employees would be required to deliver it? – and there are the practical questions to which people want some answers – how much would their pension or benefits amount to? Would payments rise with inflation?

We are assured such questions are being tackled. The Scottish Government has now set up a second expert panel, to be chaired by Martyn Evans, the head of the Carnegie UK Trust (and a member of the first expert panel) to consider the medium and long-term shape of an independent Scotland's welfare system. The panel will give their early thoughts in September but not report back fully until early next year. Curiously, you might think, that's after the Scottish Government's blueprint for independence is due in November.

In the meantime SNP ministers insist they have an exciting opportunity to create a better welfare system. Will the lack of detail alarm people? Or will they look at Iain Duncan Smith's welfare reforms and think: "Anything has to be better than this?" For the time being, at least, the SNP's answer to that question is clear.