Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you, convener, and good morning, colleagues. I welcome this opportunity to assist the committee in its consideration of the draft Social Security (Up-rating) Order 2023 and the draft Social Security (Up-rating) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2023.

The draft Social Security (Up-rating) Order 2023 provides for the uprating of benefits administered in Scotland by the Department for Work and Pensions, while the draft Social Security (Up-rating) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 provide for the uprating of devolved benefits administered by the Scottish Government. The laid instruments provide a 10.1 per cent increase in support covering all devolved benefits, excluding the Scottish child payment, for which uprating was included in the 25 per cent in-year increase. That means that we are uprating all those benefits where there is a statutory requirement for us to do so and have additionally chosen to uprate those for which there is no statutory requirement for ministers to do so.

As the committee is aware, we took the decision to increase the Scottish child payment from £20 to £25 per week in November 2022, which was a 25 per cent increase. Now that eligibility has been extended to under-16-year-olds, that will benefit more than 300,000 children across Scotland in the financial year 2023-24. The Scottish Government estimates that the payment could reduce the relative child poverty rates in Scotland by 5 percentage points in 2023-24, lifting around 50,000 children out of relative poverty.

We have taken the decisions on uprating in recognition of the difficulties facing people in Scotland during the on-going cost of living crisis, which has seen inflation rates reach a 40-year high over recent months. Subject to parliamentary approval, the new rates in the regulations before us will come into force in April 2023. I thank the committee for its scrutiny and consideration of the uprating instruments and urge colleagues to welcome and support them.

That is certainly an important issue, although a question not directly related to the instruments before us. Of course, the carers allowance supplement will be uprated through the instruments by 10.1 per cent overall, in line with other benefits.

The question around doubling the carers allowance supplement in the next financial year and considerations once we get to that juncture in the next period—sorry, Pam Duncan-Glancy, I thought that you were talking about the additional carers allowance supplement, so please excuse me. Of course, there is relevancy and I apologise for that misspeaking.

I know that the member is interested in this area. It is important to consider how we go forward from the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. How is the Scottish Government most effectively equipped to respond to issues that require additional financial support for people and to situations in which it needs extra capacity in its financial armoury to help people? That is more specifically a consideration for the finance committee and finance ministers, but it has an impact across—

There were discussions around the data scan throughout 2022, which concluded in late 2022. Once we settled on the February commencement of payments—I have always said that the payments would commence from February—there was a continued and consistent ambition from the Scottish Government to get the data in early January. During 2022, largely at official level, we had discussed with the DWP that we hoped to receive and planned on receiving the data early in January, but the DWP, because of the pressures from the cost of living payments, was unable to meet that position. We then agreed on 31 January.

I refute strongly the accusation that there was not adequate planning in social security. I am happy to commit my senior officials who work in programming, agency and policy to come and speak to the committee, because the planning of the delivery of social security benefits in Scotland has, I think, been extremely professional and remarkably delivered and considered while working in a hybrid system where we have to engage with the DWP and where we are still developing a new service that is performing well. You have seen the feedback from people who have used the service and how positive it is.

The number of new clients who made applications for the Scottish child payment in a short period in that November week represented a significant increase in client activity and demand on the service. A huge amount of planning went into that November date, and that is why it was so successful. That required additional recruitment, digital development and significantly wider programming to make sure that everything was effective. Significant Scottish child payments have been issued and I will be able to provide further updates to the Parliament on that in due course. I refute strongly any accusation that the Scottish child payment extension was not properly planned. It was very well planned; it has been very well executed and it has helped thousands of people who would not have got that support if it were not for the Scottish Government initiative. It is not available elsewhere in the UK. I must be very strong about that.

On the latter point, about how the review will be reported, I am happy to update the committee about it in due course, as soon as I can. I have already instructed my officials to consider the timing of the benefit next winter.

There is no statutory requirement to uprate best start foods, but, despite that, we increased the best start foods payment in August 2021 from £4.25 to £4.50 a week, a rise that provides a weekly payment that is more generous than those in other parts of the UK, as I have already said. Once it has been uprated in April by 10.1 per cent—should the committee and the Parliament agree the instruments before us—best start foods will provide £19.80 every four weeks throughout pregnancy, £39.60 every four weeks from birth until a child turns one to support breastfeeding mothers or to help with the cost of providing first infant formula milk, and £19.80 every four weeks from the age of one until the child turns three. Many recipients of best start foods will also benefit from our other five family payments, which include the Scottish child payment and the three best start grants.

Our five family payments could already be worth about £10,000 by the time an eligible family’s child turns six, compared to about £1,800 for eligible families in England and Wales—that is significant additional support—and over £20,000 by the time an eligible child is 16. With an expanded range of qualifying benefits compared with the UK healthy voucher scheme, best start foods also offers more choice by including a wider range of healthy foods for families to purchase. Members may have also seen that in recent weeks the Scottish Government has been trying to raise awareness of best start foods and has been encouraging people to check their cards to see whether they are eligible and to utilise that support, because we want people to get the benefit of it.

As members will be aware, the winter heating payment has just been introduced. We have, of course, discussed it at this committee. For the first time, we will provide a stable, reliable payment that will help around 400,000 low-income households and individuals with their heating expenses each winter. As I have said before, our new benefit is an investment of over £20 million each year, which is more than double the £8.3 million on average provided by the Department for Work and Pensions in the past seven years. During that same seven-year period, on average, 185,000 people received support through the UK Government’s cold weather payments in comparison to our new benefit, which, as I said, will provide support to around 400,000 people. As I highlighted in my opening remarks, we will uprate the winter heating payment by 10.1 per cent, should the Parliament agree the instruments before us. That will provide additional support next winter. Members may have seen yesterday’s clarification that the winter heating payment is being paid out as we speak, which we should all welcome.

As ministers in the social justice portfolio, we certainly press the case for additional support for social security through discussions with our colleagues who are finance ministers, particularly if new resource emerges through the process of consequentials or in-year reconsiderations of budget spend. I should say, however, that the finance ministers are very committed to the social justice position. There is a shared determination, as a Government, that it is a national mission to tackle poverty. That has been demonstrated by the fact that the Deputy First Minister and acting finance secretary has committed £428 million to uprating in the next financial year as well as the £442 million for the Scottish child payment.

Yes, in Government we will continue to discuss collaboratively and with the shared determination to tackle poverty what more financial resource can be allocated to social security. As a Government, we are absolutely focused on doing what we can to support people generally, and particularly in these challenging times.

Within this financial year, we will start carer support payments, so there will be new applications.

I am conscious that I have still to respond formally to that consultation, so I would be grateful if we could consider those matters once I have responded formally. It is important in terms of process that that happens first. I will be happy to engage on those points thereafter.