Questions and answers

Question reference: S5W-22223

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its comments in its consultation on disability assistance regarding Social Security Scotland's ability to use face-to-face assessments in prescribed circumstances for the determination of disability assistance for working age people, for what reason it has not requested specific feedback on this list of circumstances in its consultation; how it plans to manage the agency's freedom to decide where a face-to-face assessment is required, and how it will consult in further detail on the agency's proposed use of this power.

Question reference: S5W-22237

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its consultation on disability assistance, whether it plans to produce a list of the types of supporting information that will be considered and, if so, whether this will be inclusive rather than exhaustive.

Question reference: S5W-22090

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment in its duration of awards and automatic entitlement for disability assistance policy position paper that, "There may be occasions where Social Security Scotland needs to instigate a review before the indicated award review date. Although these occasions are anticipated to be rare they would include where information is provided to Social Security Scotland that suggests the client’s circumstances have changed", what protections will be in place to ensure that a person who is entitled to social security does not have their case reviewed as a result of malicious complaints.

Social Security Scotland is under an obligation to protect public funds. When an allegation is made, there may be no way of knowing whether it has been done with malicious intent. All investigations will therefore be carried out under a presumption of innocence.

Where evidence gathered during an investigation shows there is substance to an allegation, an individual will always be given an opportunity to explain the circumstances before any further action is taken. A review of entitlement would only be undertaken if evidence suggested that it was necessary.

Question reference: S5W-22080

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the statements in its position paper on devolved social security transfer that "no-one will be subject to a face to face re-assessment by DWP when new claims for PIP/Disability Assistance for Working Age People are open", whether anyone will be subject to a face to face re-assessment by Social Security Scotland when new claims for this assessment are open.

We remain committed to significantly reducing the number of assessments and reassessments carried out for individuals making a new application for Disability Assistance for Working Age People (DAWAP). The detailed design of DAWAP is ongoing and will aim to ensure that individuals will only be required to attend a face to face assessment or reassessment when there is no other practicable way to obtain the information required to make a decision.

Question reference: S5W-22069

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement in its position paper on Cold Spell and Winter Heating Assistance (WHA) that "We propose this WHA payment is consistent with the current Winter Fuel Payments made by the UK Government at £200", whether WHA will differ from the current Winter Fuel Payment scheme regarding payments of (a) £100 to someone who is under 80 and lives (i) with someone under 80 who also qualifies, (ii) with someone over 80 who also qualifies and (iii) in a care home and does not get certain benefits, (b) £200 to someone who is over 80 and lives with someone under 80 who also qualifies and (c) £150 to someone who is over 80 and lives (A) with someone over 80 who also qualifies and (B) in a care home and does not get certain benefits.

Question reference: S5W-22093

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments in its duration of awards and automatic entitlement for disability assistance policy position paper, what the minimum review period will be for a person's live case to be transferred from the DWP.

The Scottish Government will use feedback from the current Disability Assistance consultation to inform its approach to case transfers. The Scottish Government is undertaking specific consultation with the Experience Panels in relation to case transfers and will set out its approach in relation to each form of Disability Assistance in due course. This approach will seek to cause minimal disruption for clients and to balance the transfer of clients at pace with delivering their benefits safely and securely. We will honour award levels and durations of current awards to ensure that clients are not made to undergo unnecessary award reviews when their benefit transfers.

Question reference: S5W-22045

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether light-touch reviews will be part of the assessment process for disability assistance for older people.

The Consultation on Disability Assistance in Scotland, which launched on 5 March 2019, set out our policy proposals around Disability Assistance for Older People, light-touch reviews and assessments.

We do not intend to conduct face to face assessments for Disability Assistance for Older People, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Across the different forms of Disability Assistance, we will use an approach that is supportive, person-centred and minimises stress and anxiety. It is anticipated that light-touch reviews will be carried out by Social Security Scotland without having to see the person in the majority of cases.

Question reference: S5W-22071

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the statement in its position paper on Cold Spell and Winter Heating Assistance (WHA) that "We propose this WHA payment is consistent with the current Winter Fuel Payments made by the UK Government at £200", whether WHA will only be paid at a rate of £200.

Question reference: S5W-22219

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether disability assistance case managers will be trained to (a) have specialist knowledge regarding a single or small number of conditions or (b) take a generalist approach with a knowledge of a wide number of conditions.

Question reference: S5W-22265

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether an individual will have an absolute right to a home assessment for disability assistance in the event that they request one as a result of Social Security Scotland having determined that a face-to-face assessment is required.

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