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No one will be worse off through the case transfer process.

Certainly, I am open to coming to the committee. We had a good discussion on case transfer generally recently and I am certainly open to doing that again. Obviously, we will have different engagements—like we have today—on specific regulations, but if there is an appetite from the committee to have a similar session to the one we had previously on case transfer, which would include the process that we are discussing today, I would of course attend it.

I refer to my answer to the deputy convener, in which I set out what we will publish. Of course, the statistics that are assimilated as time progresses will be more insightful for all of us as the roll-out of case transfer is undertaken more generally. I talked about our evaluation report that is to be published in summer 2023. I would imagine that the committee would probably want to discuss that at that point.

When it to comes to increases that result in a change of a person’s conditions, we do not estimate there will be any increased cost, because our approach largely mirrors the DLA-to-PIP transition, which is covered in the funding that we receive from the block grant adjustment. However, our approach to any decreases will likely increase our costs, as we are choosing to be more generous than the DWP policy. The position with increases to a person’s payment is that they will be backdated to when the case transfer happened.

With regard to decreases, we will apply that only from the date of the review rather than the change of circumstances or case transfer. Therefore, they will apply from when the person’s review outcome is decided. Of course, if they choose to undertake a redetermination or appeal, they will get short-term assistance through that process. It would be only from the conclusion of their review that any decrease or a nil award would be applied.

Can you just refine that question, Mr Balfour, so that I am clear about what you are asking?

Is it not for me to bring in my officials if I wish to?

That is an important question, given that we are still involved in a joint delivery programme with the DWP. Case transfer is a joint project between us and the DWP. We work closely together to develop our processes and guidance to make sure that people get consistent answers to their questions. Individual client communications that have been developed by each organisation are shared to ensure that we give the same messages.

I will give an example of our joined-up approach. When an award is selected for transfer, the DWP will write to the client to let them know that their DLA allowance has been selected for transfer and will be coming to an end. We will then write to the person to introduce them to Social Security Scotland and to provide information about the transfer process. That is an example of how the two organisations will work together to ensure that people are informed and properly apprised of the process that they will be going through.

Yes. I am sorry—I should have made it clear that the agency cannot advise on entitlement, because people have to go through the process. Again—and I just want to be absolutely clear and correct with regard to my previous answer—the agency cannot advise on entitlement, because people have to go through that process.

I will bring in Kate Thomson-McDermott if she has anything further to add, but what I will say is that, through our work and engagement with stakeholders, we are doing what we can to ensure that those to whom people turn for that advice, including our independent advice service throughout Scotland, are well apprised of the process, so that they can help people make decisions according to their individual circumstances.

Kate, do you have anything to add?

We will consider the effectiveness of our communications as part of our wider evaluation of the case transfer process, which will form part of our wider published strategy for evaluating the policy impacts of the devolution of disability benefits.

We are developing plans for the case transfer evaluation, which will include a focus on individuals moving from DLA to ADP, and it is expected that the evaluation of the case transfer process will draw on data from multiple sources, including management information, Social Security Scotland research activity and qualitative evidence from those who have experience of the case transfer process. We expect to publish an evaluation report on the case transfer process in summer 2023, and are continuing to consider appropriate reporting timelines in line with our developing evaluation plans.

In terms of the statistical question, quarterly reporting of ADP statistics will begin from 14 June 2022. The content of these statistics will expand over time and we intend for information on case transfers and reviews to be included in future cycles of that reporting. As part of that, we expect to include information relating to the change in clients’ awards following post-transfer reviews.

Good morning, and thank you for inviting me to give evidence on the draft Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Transitional Provisions and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2022.

I am grateful for our recent discussion on case transfer more generally, which I hope that members found useful. I also appreciate the work of the committee to date in considering the case transfer provisions for people whose awards are moving from disability living allowance to child disability payment and from personal independence payment to adult disability payment. The draft regulations that we are discussing today mirror the processes in the regulations on those benefits in many ways, but there are some key differences, which I will come to shortly.

As I have set out to the committee and Parliament before, we are determined to ensure that case transfer is a seamless process and that we transfer people’s awards safely and securely. It is not a simple administrative process. We are refining information from Department for Work and Pensions systems, some of which are decades old, and transferring it to Social Security Scotland’s new, agile single benefits system. Ensuring that we have the right information and that no one falls out of payment across the total of approximately 700,000 awards that will transfer is a project that takes planning and time. We are doing that work at pace, while ensuring that we do not risk the process’s being undertaken in a safe and secure way. Protecting payments is our absolute focus. The benefits in question are payments of money that people rely on, and we will make sure that recipients continue to get paid the right amount of money at the time that they expect.

From 13 June, we will pilot the PIP transfer, with full transfer beginning at the end of August with the national introduction of our adult disability payment. At that point, adults who receive disability living allowance and would otherwise be required to apply for PIP will start to have their awards selected for transfer. It is that transfer, which is known as natural case transfer, that we are here to discuss.

The draft regulations will ensure that a Scottish resident who was born after 8 April 1948 will have their DLA award selected for transfer to ADP if one of the following three criteria is met: a change of circumstance relevant to the DLA award is reported; the DLA award is due to be renewed; or the person asks to have their DLA award transferred. Once the transfer completes, the person’s initial ADP award will be a like-for-like copy of their DLA award. Then, because the eligibility rules for DLA and ADP are different, the person’s award will be reviewed and ADP rules will apply.

I must make it clear that that review will mean that some people’s awards will stay the same, while other people’s awards may be increased, reduced or ended. That said, the process will not be a repeat of the DWP’s transition from DLA to PIP. In line with our case transfer principles, people will not have to apply for ADP in the way that they had to for PIP. Instead, they will be supported through a review process. People who undergo that review will have our new forms of support available to them through our local delivery service and our independent advocacy service. People will have the enhanced rights that we have built into ADP available at every stage of the process.

I will briefly outline that support. We have replaced the adversarial approach of the DWP through the removal of assessments and degrading examinations. We start from a position of trust in what people tell us. The onus will be on Social Security Scotland to collect information on people’s behalf. The agency will need to collect only one piece of formal supporting information when it makes a decision. Short-term assistance will also be available for anyone who has a reduced or nil award after the review and wishes to seek a redetermination or appeal.

We are also exploring ways of providing support to anyone who may lose the enhanced mobility component on review, given the impact that that will have on their ability to continue to access the accessible vehicles and equipment scheme. I will update the committee on that as soon as I can.

We have designed the process to be as supportive as possible, while acknowledging the challenges that moving between different benefits with different rules could create. I believe that, with the regulations, we have struck the right balance.

I will be happy to take questions.