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Scottish Government Session 6 priorities
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, 28 July 2021
Neil Gray MSP
Convener, Social Justice and Social Security Committee
The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP
28th July 2021
Scottish Government Session 6 priorities
I’m writing in response to your letter of 8 July asking that I set out my priorities for the new parliamentary session. I am pleased to do so, although you will understand that these priorities are still under development and that key commitments will be set out in due course in the Programme for Government.
Firstly, may I say again that Ben Macpherson and I look forward to working with the Committee over the course of the Parliament. We can look forward to a very exciting and challenging period as we press ahead with delivering a social security system based on dignity, fairness and respect, strengthening our shared national mission to tackle child poverty and building a fairer, more equal country. I know that my officials have begun regular engagement with the Committee Clerks to ensure effective liaison and support for Committee scrutiny.
Notwithstanding the importance of ensuring coordination across the portfolio, this response focuses primarily on activity most relevant to the remit of the Committee.
Social Justice
The work of the portfolio contributes to a number of National Outcomes including those around Poverty and Communities. It therefore follows that I cannot emphasise enough the importance of joining up the work we are doing together across Social Justice and Social Security, Housing, Local Government and Communities in order to improve people’s lives.
My portfolio presents great opportunities to link up key priorities across Government, none more so than tackling poverty, and child poverty in particular.
Tackling Child Poverty
As you know, we have made it a national mission to tackle child poverty. This government has legislated for some very ambitious targets in this area, which we are working across government to deliver, and we will publish a second delivery plan in March 2022. Tackling child poverty will require all parts of Scottish society to work together to deliver the change needed. I am keen to work closely with Members of this Parliament and for you to support us in taking the action required and to come forward with ideas – as I have said previously, my door is always open to positive and serious suggestions.
The Scottish Child Payment is a transformative action to reduce child poverty, unparalleled across the UK, which will lift thousands of children in Scotland out of poverty as well as reducing the depth of poverty for many others. This brand new benefit pays £40 per child, every four weeks to thousands of low income families with children under six. In the first six weeks of payments following our launch on 15 February, we estimate that 60,000 low income families received Scottish Child Payment, benefitting over 79,000 children. We remain committed to rolling out the payment for children under 16 by the end of 2022 and have committed to double the rates of the payment over the course of this Parliamentary term, taking payments to £20 per week per child.
Aligned with this, and in recognition of the urgency to tackle child poverty, we have commenced delivery of Scottish Child Payment Bridging Payments, building on the approach taken in response to the pandemic. We have already paid £200 per eligible child in 2021, with £100 paid at Easter and a further £100 paid at the start of summer, and will shortly confirm delivery proposals for the remaining payments to the end of 2022. Backed by £77 million of investment, we anticipate that around 145,000 children and young people will benefit from these payments – almost two years ahead of the roll out of Scottish Child Payment to under 16s, putting money in the pocket of families who need it now.
Broader support for people on low incomes
In addition, we are supporting wider groups on low incomes by delivering entirely new Pandemic Support Payments of £130 for each household that received Council Tax Reduction in April. We have extended eligibility to additional households, including those in temporary accommodation, and anticipate that around 500,000 Scottish households will benefit from this investment, which is worth over £65 million. Our bridging payments and Pandemic Support Payments are a good example of how we are working in partnership with local authorities to deliver the immediate financial support households need in Scotland – helping to tackle poverty and building financial security.
We know that many people are still not receiving the full level of financial support they are entitled to. We will therefore continue to place a strong focus on income maximisation work through our investment of £12 million on advice services. This includes funding for the Money Talk Team service, which provides free, confidential and personalised income maximisation advice and ensures people are not paying more than they need to for basic services, like energy and broadband. In the first two and half years of operation, the service helped put over £31 million into the pockets of more than 16,000 low income households,
averaging over £1,900 per client. We will also continue work to improve referral pathways, including through our Manifesto commitments to expand access to financial and wider advice in both health and school settings. And in recognition of the fact that those on the lowest incomes often have to resort to a high cost credit provider or illegal money lender to borrow money to meet their needs, we have agreed in principle to participate in a pilot of a no- interest loan scheme in partnership with HMT. This will help prevent people on low incomes from getting into unmanageable debt.
In line with our manifesto, the Government will also begin work in the Parliament to provide a Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG). Recommendations on MIG were included in the report of the Social Renewal Advisory Board1 (SRAB) calling on the Scottish Government to “Commit to a MIG for all as a long term aim”. In its response to the report, the previous Scottish Government said it would “hold workshops with key stakeholders to examine existing research on MIGs, the key issues involved, and potential opportunities and challenges”. Within the first 100 days of this Government we will invite views from stakeholders to gather evidence on how a MIG could be delivered. In addition to this, we will establish a Steering Group to take policy development forward. Alongside the Steering Group, we will also explore the concept of Universal Basic Services – another SRAB recommendation - which, by ensuring people have access to the provision of basic services, will contribute toward ensuring a minimum standard of living. This work is currently at an early stage and will require strong partnership across a number of portfolios. Our commitments here exemplify the priority we are giving to the recommendations from SRAB and how they are becoming embedded into policy development. This is only one such example - there are many others across the range of Ministerial portfolios, including increasing entitlement to free Early Learning and Childcare and increasing the Parental Employment Support Fund.
Tackling food insecurity
The work that we are undertaking in relation to tackling food insecurity is a good example of the cross-portfolio working that we are taking forward. Our work in this area is strongly linked with other priorities, including the Summer Programme for young people and expansion of free school meals and breakfasts. We intend to publish a National Plan to end the need for food banks early in this parliamentary term, with a strong focus on cash-first approaches, which were shown during the pandemic to be a highly effective and dignified way to support people. We will work in partnership with other public and third sector organisations, and ensure that the voices of those who have experienced food insecurity are heard, in developing this Plan. We believe that taking a holistic approach to supporting people on low- incomes offers the best route out of poverty. We are therefore linking this work with the review of the Scottish Welfare Fund (see below).
Social Security
As you will be aware, the Scotland Act initially set out that eleven benefits would transfer from the UK Government to the Scottish Parliament. In the three years since we’ve had the legislative powers to take forward social security benefits, I am proud to be able to say we have now introduced eleven new benefits. Among these are seven brand new benefits, including Scottish Child Payment, Job Start Payment and Young Carer Grant. I am very pleased that we have also now reached a further significant milestone in the form of our first
1 a group chaired by previous Scottish Government Ministers but with an independent remit
major disability benefit, Child Disability Payment, which as you know has now commenced with an initial opening for new applications in three local authority areas.
We are using our limited devolved powers to create a new Social Security system with dignity, fairness and respect at the heart of everything that we do and which is fully aligned to our wider strategic objectives, including tackling poverty. Our plans envisage delivery of 17 benefits in total – six more than originally anticipated. Covid-19 presented significant challenges and in agreement with DWP we temporarily suspended delivery of the social security programme. However, in addition to the substantial package of support to families
provided over the course of the pandemic we successfully introduced the following three new benefits in 2020:
o Job Start Payment to help young people moving into employment
o Child Winter Heating Assistance to help families of severely disabled children to heat their homes;
o The Scottish Child Payment for 0 to 6 year olds.
Future delivery of Social Security Benefits
There will be substantial further delivery of the social security programme over this Parliament. I am currently considering priorities, working with delivery partners in local authorities, health boards and the Department for Work and Pensions and taking into consideration the on-going impacts and uncertainties associated with Covid-19.
Announcements will be made as and when it is appropriate to make firm commitments and I will of course keep the Committee closely informed about the Government’s plans.
Disability Benefits
Our immediate significant delivery milestones in the roll-out of new benefits are already well known. These primarily cover disability benefits As noted above Child Disability Payment (CDP) is now live in three local authority areas: Perth and Kinross, Dundee City and Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar, with roll-out across the rest of Scotland scheduled for November 2021. This new benefit replaces Disability Living Allowance for children.
The legislation underpinning CDP is of course already in place although we are proposing a range of technical adjustments to come into effect to support national roll-out and to support the case transfer process. Draft regulations to give effect to these changes – the Disability Assistance for Children and Young People (Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 have been submitted to the Scottish Commission on Social Security (SCoSS) for scrutiny prior to being laid before Parliament after summer recess.
Further regulations are also required to protect clients from the risk of financial abuse, as well as reducing the risk of overpayments. These regulations have also been submitted to SCoSS pending laying after the summer recess. Copies of these draft regulations and accompanying memoranda have been published and shared with the Committee for information.
Delivery of Adult Disability Payment (ADP) which replaces Personal Independence Payment for clients in Scotland will commence on a phased basis in in spring 2022 with full roll-out expected in summer 2022. The draft regulations for Adult Disability Payment have also been submitted to SCoSS for scrutiny and have been published and shared with the Committee for information. These regulations will be laid in Parliament towards the end of this year.
In publishing the draft ADP regulations the Government also set out its response to the consultation on earlier draft regulations. I am very grateful for the constructive way in which stakeholders and people with lived experience have engaged with us on this. Our ambition is to address the fundamental, structural issues with the way that face-to-face assessments work for Personal Independence Payment, replacing this with a much fairer system of seeking supporting information from a professional who knows the client best. We will only ask clients to attend a consultation if there is no other practicable way for us to understand the individual’s needs, with no functional assessments that people have told us are degrading and stressful.
As well as launching these disability benefits for new claims we will begin transferring the disability benefit awards - ‘case transfer’ - of Scottish clients from the Department for Work and Pensions to Social Security Scotland, starting with children and young people this autumn. This hugely complex and time-consuming task will be a major focus for the programme over the next few years until all transfers are successfully completed.
We have heard from our experience panels and people who have direct experience of the current system that the most important thing in case transfer is that people continue to receive the correct payments at the correct times. It is crucial that we deliver this ‘safe and secure’ case transfer. Whilst we will ensure clear, regular and open communications at all times, it is important to be aware that clients will not need to apply for replacement benefits, nor will their existing eligibility be re-assessed as part of case transfer; payments of the relevant Department for Work and Pensions benefits will see them automatically transition to Social Security Scotland.
As the previous Cabinet Secretary outlined in her statement to Parliament in November 2020, safe and secure case transfer of benefits is critically dependent upon a joint programme with the Department for Work and Pensions and our delivery timescales necessarily depend on DWP capacity to support this work.
Winter Benefits
I wrote on 1 July to inform you that I had written to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to request agreement that the Social Fund remain open in Scotland to enable continued provision of DWP winter benefits in Scotland. Over the period that the Social Fund remains open I expect to introduce replacements for the existing DWP benefit. These comprise our manifesto commitment to introduce a new Low Income Winter Heating Assistance to replace the existing DWP Cold Weather Payment and a like for like replacement for the current Winter Fuel Payment. Further announcements about the timetable for delivery of these benefits will be made following agreement with the Secretary of State.
Carer’s Benefits
On 22 June 2021, we introduced the Carer’s Allowance Supplement (Scotland) Bill which makes provision for a further double payment of Carer’s Allowance Supplement in December 2021, increasing the amount each eligible carer will receive by £231.40. The Parliamentary
timetable to ensure the Bill achieves Royal Assent ahead of the December payment date is very tight and I would like to thank Committee members for their support to date in developing an appropriate scrutiny timetable with this in mind.
We are continuing to work with carers and stakeholders to develop a replacement for Carer’s Allowance – currently known as Scottish Carer’s Assistance – that works better for the people of Scotland. Our work to date has identified a number of areas in which the existing Carer’s Allowance benefit could be improved. We have used this feedback to develop draft aims for Scottish Carer’s Assistance, which we set out in a discussion paper published in March of this year, as well as a set of options for changes which could be made.
Officials are continuing to work with carers and stakeholders to develop these aims and options for Scottish Carer’s Assistance, and to inform a Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) process to guide decisions on proposals for the benefit. The MCA process will assess the options for change against a set of criteria which will be based on the aims and the social security principles. Following this process it is our intention to carry out a public consultation on proposals for Scottish Carer’s Assistance before introduction.
Scottish Child Payment (SCP)
As noted above, we have already introduced this brand new benefit in Scotland, and delivering it at pace has been both a challenge and an achievement. We will of course continue to do all we can to promote it now it is here and ensure as many people as possible who are eligible receive the money they are entitled to.
The Scottish Government is committed to rolling out SCP to under 16s by the end of 2022. As has already been stated publicly we are dependent on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) giving us the data we need for 6-16 year olds and we cannot proceed without it. In its report of June this year, Welfare policy in Scotland, the Scottish Affairs Committee called upon the DWP to prioritise the delivery of this data. However, despite urgent on-going discussions between senior leaders in DWP and the Scottish Government, we are still awaiting details of a solution from the UK Government that is deliverable within the agreed timescales. Assuming that we are able to put in place the necessary arrangements we will be introducing regulations to achieve this in the summer or autumn of 2022. We will of course provide an opportunity for The Scottish Commission on Social Security to comment on these regulations in advance.
This government has also committed to double the rates of payment of SCP over the course of this Parliamentary term, taking payments to £20 per week per child. I have already made clear that we will make these changes as soon as possible. We are currently considering the timetable for doing so taking into account how to best impact child poverty, as well as legislative, delivery and financial considerations.
Best Start Foods
Since the election we have also made regulations to increase the value of Best Start Foods to £4.50 a week, payments of which will commence in August. We are currently considering the timing for introducing further legislation to remove income thresholds for Best Start Foods as promised in the manifesto. This change will increase the number of people eligible for the benefit which will in turn increase the number of applications received and processed
by Social Security Scotland. It is therefore important that these changes are introduced at the right time as part of the wider programme of benefit delivery. We are also now turning our attention to the first evaluation of Best Start Foods which is likely to commence in the current financial year.
Social Security Scotland
Social Security Scotland continues to build its capacity to support the administration of Scottish benefits. It is now administering eleven benefits providing vital support for low- income families, disabled children, carers and young people entering the workplace. This month will also see the introduction of face-to-face support through the piloting of its Local Delivery service in Dundee, Perth and Kinross, and the Western Isles, ahead of the service being available in communities across Scotland by the end of this calendar year. This means that people will be able to access our benefits online, by phone or face-to face, delivering on our statutory obligation to adopt inclusive communication principles and enabling people to access this service in the way that would be best for them.
Client feedback on the service provided by Social Security Scotland has been overwhelmingly positive with 90% of people rating their experience ‘very good’ or ‘good’ – we will continue to listen, using feedback to continuously improve our service and continue to treat clients with dignity, fairness and respect.
I will be ensuring Social Security Scotland continues to meet the commitments in the Social Security Charter as it takes on larger and more complex benefits. Delivery against these commitments will be detailed in the annual Charter Measurement Framework, which is published alongside the agency’s annual report.
David Wallace, Chief Executive of Social Security Scotland will be writing to you shortly to provide you with more detail on the recently published business plan which sets out the significant growth and change that Social Security Scotland will go through over the course of the remainder of this financial year as it takes on delivery of Child Disability Payment and prepares for the introduction of Adult Disability Payment.
Wider Social Security Policy
Alongside the delivery of social security benefits and building the capability in Social Security Scotland, over the course of the Parliament we will continue to develop new and innovative policies and work with partners in pursuit of the shared goals I described above. This work is wide-ranging, including a broad range of on-going activity required to ensure that people are able to access all of the support they are due.
We intend to publish the second Benefit Take-up Strategy in the autumn. I have also committed to independently review the purpose and operation of the Scottish Welfare Fund to make sure that it works as well as possible in all parts of the country.
UK Government benefits
People in Scotland will continue to be affected by the UK Government’s welfare reforms and cuts to benefits. Analysis by the Scottish Government indicates that the UK Government’s plans to cut Universal Credit by £20-per-week at the end of October could reduce welfare
expenditure in Scotland by £461 million by 2023/242. Furthermore, analysis by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation indicates that this planned cut to Universal Credit will pull 500,000 people across the UK, including 200,000 children, into poverty3. This is emblematic of other decisions made by the UK Government, including the continued presence of the two-child limit, benefit cap and five-week-wait for a first payment of Universal Credit, that serve to disadvantage people in already financially precarious positions. The Scottish Government is committed to tackling child poverty and to delivering a fairer more prosperous country. The removal of the £20-per-week uplift threatens to effectively mitigate the positive impact of our new Scottish Child Payment. The Scottish Government has repeatedly called for fixes to these issues and will continue to work with stakeholders, including the other devolved administrations, to call upon the UK Government to do the right thing and make much needed changes to Universal Credit.
In conclusion, as you can see we have an ambitious programme for the period ahead. Given the complexities of social security benefit delivery, our delivery timescales will take a responsible approach which, whilst being ambitious, will focus on ensuring a safe transition that protects people’s payments. We will not rush through changes which risk that safe and secure transfer and which have been a feature of certain benefits delivery programmes elsewhere.
The Social Security programme will of course continue to require a substantial programme of legislation and I fully expect there to be significant requirements above and beyond the specific matters identified in this letter over the course of the Parliament. Our officials will continue to closely liaise with the clerks on a regular, ongoing basis.
As former Committee members the Minister and I appreciate the time and care that Committees bring to formal scrutiny. We are both committed to working closely with you over this parliament and look forward to doing so.
SHONA ROBISON
2 Impact of reserved benefit policies on expenditure in Scotland: analysis - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
3 JRF Spring Budget 2021 analysis | JRF