- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has any plans to amend the pre-action requirements relating to private tenancies to formalise the referral of tenants for free independent money advice.
Answer
The aim of the Pre-Action Protocol for rent arrears is to sustain a tenancy, as far as possible, so that tenants can remain in their homes. Before taking action to repossess a property, landlords are required to have carried out certain steps to support their tenant to address any arrears. This includes providing tenants with clear information on how to access information and advice on financial support and debt management. In any subsequent eviction action, a landlord must demonstrate how they have complied with the protocol.
There are no plans at this time to formalise the referral of private tenants for free independent money advice. Guidance for private landlords on complying with the pre-action protocols includes sample letters which help ensure tenants are provided information on their rights and sign-posted to available support, including free independent advice from the Money Talk Team. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-private-landlords-on-seeking-repossession-of-private-rented-housing-on-rent-arrears-grounds/pages/summary/ .
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support access to free internet (a) services and (b) devices in public spaces.
Answer
Every public library in Scotland provides access to free WiFi, networked devices and trained staff to offer digital support. The Scottish Government works with the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) to ensure public library staff have access to training to ensure the public receive the support they need. Library Services can apply for funding to develop digital services through the Scottish Government’s Public Library Improvement Fund and latterly (2021-22) through the Scottish Government’s Public Library COVID Relief Fund (£1.25M) both of which are administered by SLIC.
In addition to these routes, The Scottish Government also provided funding for public libraries to support the roll out of NHS Near Me services in public libraries in 2022-23.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 April 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address antisocial behaviour on public transport.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 25 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what action it can take to remove any charges for the completion of the Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government is not looking to revise the GP contract to affect the ability of GP practices to charge for voluntary completion of Debt and Mental Health Evidence Forms in Scotland. This is not work that could be considered covered by general medical services funding so if GP practices are not permitted to charge, there is a risk they will not carry out the work when requested.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 06 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Paul McLennan on 25 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee report, Robbing Peter to pay Paul: Low income and the debt trap, what work it has carried out on the Committee's recommendation "that the Scottish Government supports COSLA and local authorities to map money advice services, as well as potential contact points for referrals to inform service delivery”.
Answer
As set out in the Scottish Government’s response to the Committee’s recommendations in September 2022, no further work has been undertaken in relation to a mapping exercise for Advice Services. Mapping a sector as complex and dynamic as the advice sector would be a lengthy, labour-intensive process and any mapping exercise would be out-of-date very soon after completion.
Scottish Government has provided funding to the Independent Food Aid Network to develop localised 'Worrying About Money?' cash first referral leaflets for every local authority area in Scotland. These resources can be used both for people facing money worries and support workers. The leaflets identify which local agencies are best placed to help people maximise income and access any existing financial entitlements.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 25 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to remove the threshold for full administration bankruptcy.
Answer
There are no plans to remove the minimum debt threshold for full administration bankruptcy. Although stakeholders discussed this as part of the recent review, the relevant working group did not recommend such a change at this time.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 25 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to reduce the period that a person must wait before reapplying for a Minimal Asset Process bankruptcy.
Answer
The Scottish Government has no plans to reduce the period that a person must wait before reapplying for a Minimal Asset Process (MAP) bankruptcy. We have made significant changes to MAP eligibility criteria recently, removing the application fee, removing the minimum debt threshold, and increasing the maximum debt level to £25,000. It is important to assess the impact of these changes before considering further reform.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what key performance indicators it uses to measure the performance of VoiceAbility in assisting with Scottish Social Security claims.
Answer
The Key Performance Indicators (KPI) used in monitoring the performance of VoiceAbility are provided below:
No | Key Performance Indicator |
1 | All requests for support received must be processed and allocated to appropriate advocacy representation within 2 working days. |
2 | Initial appointments with individuals should be arranged within 3 working days of the referral to the advocacy worker or service partner. |
3 | Acknowledge receipt of complaint/concern within 2 working days of receipt and provide a formal response within 5 working days of receipt (copied to the Scottish Government contract manager for information). |
4 | Any complaints which cannot be resolved by Service Provider regarding the system or services must be sent to Scottish Government contract manager within 6 working days of receipt. |
5 | Serious issues to be escalated to the Scottish Government within 24 hours. |
6 | Service Provider must issue satisfaction survey to 100% of individuals within two days of their service requirements ending. |
7 | Service Provider must make payment to any sub-contractors within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice |
VoiceAbility are also contractually obliged to adhere to the Social Security Advocacy Service Standards – set by the Scottish Ministers in regulations as required by section 11 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. These standards set out the following six core principles framing delivery of the Social Security Independent Advocacy Service: Definition of Advocacy, Independence, Person Centred, Accessible, Trained and Quality Assurance.
We will also assess performance of the service through an evaluation exercise, which will consider both KPIs and wider quantitative and qualitative measures.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 31 March 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 25 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken with (a) COSLA and (b) local authorities to (i) advertise and (ii) raise awareness of (A) Council Tax Reduction and (B) council tax rebate schemes.
Answer
The Scottish Government are working with COSLA through the ‘Joint Working Group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform’ to encourage the adoption of best practice on debt collection and advice.
Additionally, the Scottish Government promotes the take-up of the Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme, as part of Citizens Advice Scotland's Money Talk Team service, which offers free, confidential and holistic advice – from debt advice, benefit take up and council tax reduction, to switching utility providers and reducing household energy costs.
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 11 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 25 April 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the response to Freedom of Information request FOI/202100264794, which stated that, at the end of September 2021, only 41 out of 1,478 Social Security Scotland staff had returned to the office on a regular basis, whether it will provide updated figures for how many Social Security Scotland staff (a) there currently are and (b) have now returned to the office on a regular basis.
Answer
Social Security Scotland directly employed 3,976 staff (headcount) as at December 2022. There were 3,566 directly employed staff who work in Social Security Scotland's central buildings in Dundee and Glasgow.
Social Security Scotland has adopted hybrid working in its central buildings. All colleagues based in Dundee and Glasgow are expected to spend part of their working week in an office.
