Committees at Holyrood and Westminster will work together for the first time to investigate the devolution of social security powers to Scotland.

The Social Security Committee and the Scottish Affairs Committee will hold two joint meetings in Edinburgh and London.

They will examine the relationship between the Scottish and UK governments and investigate if it is working effectively.

The Scottish Parliament will host the first meeting on March 13 at which organisations including Inclusion Scotland, the Child Poverty Action Group, and the Centre on Constitutional Change will give evidence, followed by senior officials from the Scottish Government and the Department of Work and Pensions.

A week later the committees will meet at Westminster and have invited the Scottish Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities, Angela Constance and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Damian Green to appear.

Social Security Committee convener Sandra White said: "The devolution of social security powers to the Scottish Parliament is probably one of the most complex undertakings in the history of this Parliament. What this committee wants to ensure is that both governments are working well together to ensure that this process runs as smoothly as possible.

"Ultimately no politician - be it in Holyrood or Westminster - wants the transfer of these powers to result in any difficulty for people who need social security. So significant is this issue that for the first time we will undertake this jointly with MPs.

"I hope this work will help make sure that the transfer of these powers can go ahead without issue and that no one will be adversely affected."