Thank you, convener. I am pleased to bring to the committee today my latest report on how the Scottish Government is managing the delivery of the new social security powers. The report looks at progress up to the end of February this year, while taking account of the activity that is under way.
The Scottish Government has done well to deliver the commitments that it made for the past year. They include launching Social Security Scotland, which is responsible for delivering the benefits as they are devolved. As you know, the agency became operational in September 2018 and now employs more than 320 staff.
The Government has also launched its first two benefits: the carers allowance supplement and the best start grant pregnancy and baby payment.
The social security programme has also undertaken important groundwork to support the delivery of future benefits and promote its aims of fairness, dignity and respect. That includes publishing the social security charter, and establishing the Scottish Commission on Social Security. The programme has also continued to engage people who will use the new systems in the design process.
However, delivery of the first benefits has been harder than expected. The programme has been working flat out, and the scale and complexity of the work involved has become clearer as teams plan the delivery of individual benefits.
The programme has continued to find it difficult to recruit the skills and experience that it needs in its staff, leading to greater than expected reliance on temporary and contractor staff, and pressure on the staff it does have. The programme has done well to respond to the challenges to date, but the processes and systems that it is currently using to plan and support implementation will not be enough to support the next stages.
The programme’s financial reporting has improved, but it has not been monitoring or reporting how much it will cost to fully implement all the benefits.
Delivering the second wave of benefits will be a significant challenge. Wave 2 benefits involve more complex assessments and regular payments that affect people’s day-to-day income. The programme is carrying out a wide range of work to prepare for the next stage of delivery, including revising the overarching business case, reviewing the governance and planning processes, and working to address resourcing challenges. The programme is doing the right things and is committed to learning lessons, but there is a risk that the pace of work and constant delivery pressures might not allow the team the time and space to make change quickly enough.
Finally, the Scottish Government does not yet have a clear understanding of the key things that are needed to deliver all the remaining benefits in the way that it intends. It now needs to develop its critical path of planned actions for the rest of the programme.
I am joined by colleagues who worked on the report, and we are happy to answer the committee’s questions.