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The following tables provides (a) how many and (b) what proportion of (i) its and (ii) the Social Security Directorate staff recorded (A) short- and (B) long-term absences in each (1) quarter and (2) year since 2016, broken down by the number of days lost (1) overall and (2) as a proportion of days worked by staff.

Data for the Directorate for Social Security begins at September 2016.

Table 1. Number of directly employed SG Core staff who had at least one period of short term sickness or long term sickness during a rolling year period ending in each quarter. Including the total number of scaled sick days and the percentage of working days lost

The following table provides the number of directly employed staff in the Social Security Programme Management and Delivery Division in 2018-19.

Headcount of directly employed staff in Programme Management and Delivery Division

The following table provides (a) how many and (b) what proportion of the Social Security Programme Management and Delivery Division staff recorded (i) short- and (ii) long-term absences in each (A) quarter and (B) year since 2016, broken down by the number of days lost (1) overall and (2) as a proportion days worked by staff in the programme.

Data for the Directorate for Social Security begins at September 2016.

Table 1. Number of directly employed Programme Management and Delivery staff who had at least one period of short term sickness or long term sickness during a rolling year period ending in each quarter. Including the total number of scaled sick days and the percentage of working days lost.

The following table provides a breakdown of the reasons given for short term absences, broken down by number of spells and the percentage for each reason category, within the Programme Management and Delivery Division from April 2018 to March 2019.

Programme Management and Delivery Division short term absences April 2018 to March 2019, directly employed staff.

While there is no legal impediment to automatic social security payments, in introducing the Scottish Child Payment the Scottish Government prioritised the delivery route which would deliver the benefit to the quickest timescales and with the least impact on the remaining devolved benefits.

As set out in the Scottish Child Payment position paper ( https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-position-paper-scottish-child-payment ), an automated model was rejected for a number of reasons, including the technical complexity of designing it, the resulting risks to delivery of the other devolved benefits, and the ongoing uncertainty around delays to Universal Credit migration.

The Scottish Government recognises the value of automating payments. However, in light of the considerations made during our analysis of options, detailed in the position paper, we settled on the approach of adopting an application based process which offers a more timely and efficient model for delivery.

Nearly half a million households were receiving some level of Council Tax Reduction (CTR) in June 2019, and on average recipients saved over £700 per year. 58% of CTR recipients live in one of the 30% most deprived areas in Scotland. At the end of this financial year the Scottish Government will have provided over £1.7 billion in funding for the scheme since it began.

Entitlement to CTR is determined by household circumstances and ability to pay, but also depends on the household’s Council Tax liability which in turn depends not just on the band a property is in and the council tax rate set by the local authority, but also whether any discounts or other reductions apply.

We have promoted take-up of the CTR scheme, and continue to do so, as part of the Money Talk Team service, which is delivered by the Citizens Advice Network in Scotland and supported by the Scottish Government.

As set out in the Scottish Child Payment policy position paper, once fully rolled out (by the end of 2022) eligibility for the Scottish Child Payment will be on the basis of children aged under the age of 16.

As set out in the Ministerial statement on the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan on 29 June, further work has been required to assess certain policy and delivery implications of the Scottish Child Payment.

As part of this work, we are considering a range of issues which includes assessment periods and verifying eligibility and entitlement. Our approach to this will be set out in regulations which we will submit to the Scottish Commission on Social Security in the autumn.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-25155 on 18 September 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

The initial rate of the Scottish Child Payment, when the first payments are made in 2020-21, will be £10 per week, per eligible child. Its rate in future years will be informed by the approach we take to the uprating of the devolved benefits which we are currently consulting on, prior to the laying of the legislation in the Scottish Parliament in January 2020.

When it is fully rolled out, the rate of the Scottish Child Payment will be the same for all eligible children, in each age group.