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That is absolutely the focus of the amending regulations. If the committee agrees to recommend approval of the instrument, the amended advocacy service standards will ensure that the quality of advocacy is appropriate and regulated, and that its independence is absolutely assured. That has been the case with the interim service, too.

When we considered the Social Security (Scotland) Bill in 2018, there was a determination and commitment to ensure that independent advocacy was available, and we are now delivering that. The advocacy will not be provided directly by anyone who works for the Scottish ministers, including staff of Social Security Scotland; it will be provided by people working for another organisation, VoiceAbility. The advocacy workers will support social security advocacy rights and needs, and they will work for and on behalf of the individual in a way that is as free from conflicts of interest as possible. That is all set out in the service standards.

It is important to emphasise that, under the terms of the award, VoiceAbility will deliver only advocacy and not advice. It is specifically contracted to deliver the advocacy commitments in the 2018 act, and to be there for clients when they need it.

The point about the difference between advocacy and advice is well made. Advocacy involves the provision of support that helps someone to express their rights, views and wishes and what they want to achieve, whereas advice involves imparting guidance or recommendations to someone with regard to a future action or decision. The focus of VoiceAbility’s service will be on advocacy when it comes to social security benefits that are delivered by Social Security Scotland.

I hope that today’s discussion has been helpful and that it is clear that the new service, along with the regulations under consideration, is another step towards delivering a social security system that works for people and which has fairness, dignity and respect at its heart.

I move,

That the Social Justice and Social Security Committee recommends that the Social Security (Advocacy Service Standards) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 [draft] be approved.

Motion agreed to.

There is more that we need to consider and do for carers, as we look to bring in Scottish carers assistance, but we also have to work within the fixed budget of the Scottish Parliament. It is important to consider the fact that, in order to deliver that, we are working within a budget that was set in the spring.

The questions that Mr Briggs has raised are important ones that we obviously considered in the award process. The VoiceAbility delivery model is built around home-based staff and an existing network of more than 100 accessible co-location venues in local communities across the country. VoiceAbility has already been engaged in such work, and it will continue to engage in it as it delivers the contract.

The organisation used that approach before Covid-19, so it was ahead of the game with its move to digital and accessibility in communities. That has allowed it to be flexible and responsive to fluctuating demand and to have a clear presence in all health boards at launch. As a result, the geographical presence that Mr Briggs rightly asked about will be there.

As you would expect, the organisation is very committed to creating that presence and working in collaboration with others. I look forward to seeing that happen, and I am sure that the committee, too, will look forward to engaging with it as it expands into Scotland from a strong position of delivering in the rest of the United Kingdom. With its Scottish base and bespoke training centre in Glasgow, the organisation will ensure that advocates and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge and skills that we have talked about to deliver the service to a high standard, as set out in the standards that we are discussing.

It is also important to point out that the organisation will scale up in line with demand. We do not necessarily know what the demand will be—in fact, we will see that only when the service is rolled out.

As far as I can recall, I made this point in my letter, but I should emphasise that there will be a working group that the service will engage with, which will include not only key stakeholders, who will be able to have an input to and to engage with VoiceAbility, but, crucially, people with lived experiences, to ensure that we have a connection between the new service and those who use it.

We are excited about what the organisation is going to do and how it will perform under the contract, and we look forward to working with it as it rolls things out. Of course, as I have emphasised to members, any such advocacy will be independent.

On the issue of costs, I do not have those figures just now, but I undertake to come back to the committee on that.

That is correct.

Improving support for carers was one of our first priorities with our new social security powers, and our carers allowance supplement, which was launched in September 2018, has increased carers allowance by 13 per cent. Since that launch, carers in Scotland who are continuously in receipt of carers allowance and carers allowance supplement will have received £2,270 more than carers in the rest of the UK. We have secured the resource—an important point—for a doubling of the December carers allowance supplement in this year’s budget. Therefore, we must focus the bill that we are considering today on ensuring that we get that increase to carers in December.

Amendment 3 would increase by £480.06 the amount of carers allowance supplement to be paid in December, which would more than triple the amount to be paid.

I appreciate Mr Balfour’s point in lodging the amendment, but it is not required.

The Scottish Commission on Social Security plays an important role in providing detailed scrutiny of draft social security regulations on which the advice of experts in social security is required. However, any decision to increase the amount of an existing benefit must be made in the context of the wider financial and non-financial support that is provided to the people who are entitled to the benefit and within the wider fiscal context and limits of our budget. Those decisions are best suited to the Parliament.

As the changes that can be made under any regulations that are laid under the new power that we seek to introduce are limited to increasing the level of the supplement for a specific period or periods, we do not consider that further scrutiny by the Scottish Commission on Social Security is necessary or appropriate. The application of the affirmative procedure in section 2 will allow members adequate opportunity to consider any regulations in draft form. I note that the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee’s stage 1 report on the bill supported that position.

Considering all those points, I do not support the amendment and urge Mr Balfour not to press it. If he does, I urge the committee not to support it.

The service commits to giving people the advocacy support that they need, where and when they need it. That is in the contract.

I am pleased to be here to talk about our new social security advocacy service standards. I am also pleased to confirm—as I have done in writing to the committee—that, following a regulated procurement process, we have now awarded the first four-year contract for the provision of an independent advocacy service, as required by the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. I will provide a little more detail on that shortly.

First, I will give a brief overview of the amendment that is sought by the Social Security (Advocacy Service Standards) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021. The social security advocacy service standards set out the standard of service that independent third-party organisations are required to provide on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The current advocacy service standards, which were published in January 2020, restrict providers to the use of individual instructed advocacy. Such advocacy is where the individual is able to directly communicate to the advocacy worker what outcomes they want, as well as the actions that they would like to be taken. Through extensive consultation with stakeholders on our advocacy short-life working group, which included the Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance, Citizens Advice Scotland and several independent advocacy providers, it became clear to us that removing the restriction to instructed advocacy in the service standards would increase the scope of the service and build on our human rights-based approach by making the service more widely accessible.

Such an amendment to the service standards was therefore suggested by stakeholders in the advocacy sector, and it enjoys the unanimous support of the members of the advocacy short-life working group. We are pleased to respond to that suggestion by bringing the proposed amendment before the committee today. Crucially, it will allow providers to offer non-instructed advocacy, which is an holistic approach whereby the advocate combines alternative methods of communication with observations of the client and their situation, and information from significant others in the client’s life.

That leads to a more person-centred approach in which providers are able to offer the forms of advocacy that are most appropriate to each client according to their circumstances. That will increase the scope of the service, reduce any potential for confusion and avoid potentially inconsistent outcomes. I am sure that the committee agrees that that is a positive step towards providing a more inclusive service and helping disabled people to access social security.

The service standards are designed to be applied in practice. I wrote to the committee yesterday to provide an update on delivery of the independent advocacy service and the organisation that will be responsible for implementing the standards. As I mentioned, we have now concluded the regulated procurement process to appoint a national supplier, and I am delighted to say that we will work with VoiceAbility to fulfil that vital role. VoiceAbility is a charity with 40 years’ experience of delivering independent advocacy services. It brings a deep knowledge of the sector and a wealth of experience in supporting people with disabilities to get the outcomes that they deserve.

VoiceAbility’s delivery model promises a number of positive impacts for the people of Scotland, including commitments to establish a new base and bespoke training centre in Glasgow; create up to 100 new jobs and three apprenticeships as devolved benefits are introduced; have a clear presence in all health boards at launch; recruit 75 per cent of its workforce from people who are long-term unemployed or economically inactive; sign the Scottish business pledge; and pay at least the real living wage.

That is an important step in the delivery of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 and a substantial contract award, with the Scottish Government committing to investing £20 million in the service over the next four years.

I am happy to provide any further information on the matter that would be of value to members.