Chamber and committees

That leads me to the next question, which I was already starting to formulate. We understand that we can directly link stalling life expectancy and the widening of health inequalities to the decision making that happened in relation to austerity. Julie Bell spoke to this issue when she mentioned getting alongside one another. As we go into a period of public sector and services resource pressures, how do we work together to ensure that the decisions on national or local priorities that are taken at this point in time do not start to widen health inequalities again? How do we ensure that decisions are really taken in people’s best interests and not guided by resourcing only?

Thinking about 16 and 17-year-olds, I understand that the situation is different for those who are care experienced, who do not have to meet the criteria of being out of work and on universal credit for six months. However, it is difficult for someone who is 16 or 17 and has an opportunity to take up employment but who comes from a very low-income household, as the cost of travel, clothes and so on might be a barrier.

I know that that requires a bigger discussion than what we, as a committee, are asking of the Scottish Government. However, in looking at the authorisation rates, do you feel that that is a barrier? Are some individuals not eligible because they do not meet the criteria of being out of work for six months because they are 16 or 17 and living at home? They might be applying for the payment and not meeting the criteria, so their application is not being authorised.

Finally, how do we ensure the intersectionality of the benefits system? That is a really important point. I have worked with care-experienced young people and other people experiencing homelessness over the years. A whole comorbidity of issues means that that can be a massive thing for an individual in terms of the impact that it might have on the rest of their family or on them and on what support they receive. How do we make sure that there are people with relevant skills within such hubs who can support individuals to work through all the implications? I do not think that the job start payment will have a major impact on a family’s situation, but other opportunities that someone could take advantage of could have implications for them.

My question is about the low authorisation rates, which we have touched on, and how that issue could be addressed. I want to find out how effective the measures that were implemented following the review have been. However, as we were talking, I was also thinking about whether there is a disconnect that might be causing the low authorisation rates.

The DWP’s four-week housing benefit run-on is automatic for people who are eligible for it. When I was a young person—many years ago—who was going into employment, housing payments and the question of how I would afford my rent, which I was responsible for on my own, were major considerations for me. That type of stopgap, which also existed at that time, was very helpful. It was not automatic then, but it now appears to be something that happens automatically so people do not need to chase it.

The fact that we are working with two different systems is part of the issue. The DWP holds all the information on universal credit while Social Security Scotland has a stand-alone benefit in Scotland. There is also a lack of awareness of the benefit, and the system does not automatically apply it. When benefits are automatically applied, authorisation rates obviously increase and people know more about the benefits. Could that be looked at or addressed? I do not know whether anyone else has thought about that. I just know that, if something is automatic, it will be provided to people without them having to chase it.

I will ask Karyn Dunning.

Yes, because it is very difficult for a 16 or 17-year-old to meet the eligibility conditions for universal credit as well.

Following on from something that Graeme Hendry said, in the East Ayrshire part of the area that I represent, we have a hub called SL66, in Cumnock, and one called SL33, in Kilmarnock. The hubs are based around the youth hub model that Skills Development Scotland, the local authority, the DWP and, indeed, Social Security Scotland will be part of, as well as the education system.

How do we ensure that those places are up to date with the information that they need to support young people to understand when they are eligible for the job start payment and how to apply for it? That is just one little strand of all the amazing things that happen in those centres. For a lot of young people, that is the one place that they feel connected to. They are not going to go into the jobcentre or somewhere like that, but the fact that that setting is very much like a youth club will bring them in. How do we ensure that those places can give them the support to access job start?

It feels to me that there is a cohort of young people who are going to be ineligible for the job start payment regardless of whether they are actually getting support or have a job offer in front of them.

That is all from me, convener.

In the light of consistent international experience, including data from across Australia, where record additional investment in palliative and end-of-life care accompanied the introduction of voluntary assisted dying, does the cabinet secretary agree that decisions about whether to provide a safeguarded option for terminally ill adults should be determined not solely by projected cost but by whether we are prepared to respond compassionately to dying people who are asking for choice and dignity at the end of life?

Islanders should not be restricted by seasonal ferry pricing. Therefore, it is welcome that, in the midst of the continued cost of living crisis under Labour, this SNP Government is investing £1.8 million in 2026-27 to remove peak fares on northern isles ferries. Can the cabinet secretary tell us more about how that decision is expected to benefit island communities?

:It is interesting that you mentioned community planning partnerships. Having been a member of one, I know that the overarching aims of an entire area and all the community planning partners stem from that body—all the decisions flow from it. That was a very helpful comment.