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The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions replied that “I understand my officials are taking these matters forward and I have asked them to liaise with yours as appropriate.” No further information was provided in the letter regarding the numbers of people overpaid.

We have sought to develop accessible application processes for the Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, to meet the needs of different groups. Applicants have a choice of application routes and can apply on the phone, online (including on a mobile phone) and on a paper form.

The SG’s consultation on the Fraud Code of Practice has recently closed and is now being analysed. No decisions have been taken on the practical implementation of this and the systems that may be used.

We are actively working with health boards to ensure that promotion of the Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment is embedded in their maternity and health visiting pathways and in relevant publications such as "Ready Steady Baby".

Health boards are best placed to decide the approach to promotion in their individual areas. We have not placed an explicit requirement for them to provide applications to new mothers in hospital but some may choose to do so.

The Best Start Grant’s case management systems have been built to automate processes where possible. We are minimising both manual processing and the evidence that a client is required to provide with electronic checks being made where appropriate.

For example, with evidence gathering, there are automatic checks on postcode, bank details and pregnancy details.

For decision making, automatic rules have been built into the system where possible. There are manual checks in place for quality assurance.

Under the Consolidated Budgeting Rules that the Scottish Government is required to follow there is no net impact on the Scottish Budget as a result of the transfer of Carer’s Allowance debt.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20328 on 12 December 2018. 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

No payments of Carer’s Allowance Supplement have been recovered and a recovery process has not been initiated for any payments.

The Scottish Government is currently considering the best approach to evaluate the Universal Credit Scottish choices. We intend to set out our plans for this in more detail next year.

The Scottish Government is holding a Race Equality Action Plan (REAP) Conference 11 December 2018 to update stakeholders on progress of actions in the REAP, including in relation to employment and work. This will also be a spring board for organising the summit on minority ethnic employment and enterprise which we will hold during the spring 2019.