Chamber and committees

Do you think that there is a risk that children’s needs would get lost under the adult needs if children’s services are brought into the bill?

I was going to cover the UNCRC in my questions, but I am aware that a lot about that has already come out in your evidence. However, I will try to pull some threads or get you to go a little bit further.

We have recognised that we are dealing with a framework bill. That is the context. The other contextual aspect is that no decision has been made on whether children’s services will be included in the national care service, so the committee is looking at that. In that context, to what degree can a meaningful assessment of the impact on rights be considered at this stage?

Iain Nisbet, you leaned forward.

Will the framework that is in place at the start of the process help to accelerate implementation, or will it be a hindrance?

To ask the Scottish Government what its latest assessment is of the impact of Brexit on Scotland’s food and drink sector. (S6O-01511)

Dr Liz Cameron of Scottish Chambers of Commerce recently stated:

“Scottish exporters are telling us that they continue to face growing challenges trading with countries in the EU post Brexit.”

Given the absence of any meaningful effort to alleviate the impacts on Scottish businesses of the UK Government’s economically inept and ideologically driven Brexit policy, does the cabinet secretary think that it is issues of competence or a thinly veiled contempt for Scotland that drives UK Government decision making on these issues?

Will the cabinet secretary acknowledge the importance of recruiting and investing in NHS staff in Scotland on the basis of their skills, training, ability and commitment to do the job, and will he join me in commending the wonderful NHS staff of all nationalities—in particular, in the light of Keir Starmer’s troubling and short-sighted claims that the United Kingdom is recruiting too many foreigners into the NHS? [Interruption.]

Does Pam Duncan-Glancy welcome the fact that, by the end of this month, eligible families who are in receipt of the Scottish child payment will receive the best start grant and early learning and school age payments, without the need to apply?

Presiding Officer,

“social security is itself a human right and essential to the realisation of other human rights”.

That statement in the 2018 act affirms the Scottish Government’s commitment to develop a benefits system that is accessible and efficient, with dignity, respect and fairness at its core.

As we know, 12 individual benefits are currently delivered by the Scottish Government to people across the country. Seven of them are new and unique to Scotland, and all of them are of vital importance to those who are in receipt of them. We also know that the development of Scotland’s social security system reflects the lived experience of users of the much-criticised DWP systems.

Having heard of the often callous and distressing way that people feel that they are treated in engaging with the DWP, I am glad that the Scottish Government has taken an entirely different approach?to administering and delivering benefits. People are supported at all stages, and they can request extra support. The application process includes the innovative local delivery service in every council area, which means that anyone who applies for Scottish benefits can access direct support from an adviser.

At the end of last year, more than 90 per cent of those who responded to the Scottish Government’s survey described their experience with Social Security Scotland as “very good” or “good”. However, it is clear that there is work to be done to reach 100 per cent take-up—or as close to that as we can get. Automation is, of course, key among the means of achieving that. Automated benefits dramatically improve the experience of eligible people and remove the need for multiple applications.

Along with campaigners, I welcome the imminent automation of the best start grant early learning payment and the best start grant school-age payment, and I urge the Government to move as swiftly as possible to automate further benefits in the interests of increasing uptake.

The recent One Parent Families Scotland report, “Living without a lifeline”, acknowledged the importance of the Scottish child payment. The increase from £10 to £25 for each eligible child and the extension on 14 November to all young people up to the age of 16 will be welcomed by one-parent families, as it will by all eligible families.

Described as a game-changing benefit by John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group, it is providing essential support at a time when the UK economy is in free-fall and making life so difficult for so many people. It goes without saying that our goal must be for 100 per cent take-up of the benefit.

I ask the minister in his summing-up to confirm whether a further round of invitations to apply will be sent to all families to coincide with the extension of the Scottish child payment and to provide some detail on data-gathering on behalf of Social Security Scotland to support benefit take-up. I would also ask him to confirm that thresholds for eligibility are reviewed regularly so that they keep pace with the reality of income and expenditure.

Free school meals and the school clothing grant do not lie within the remit of Social Security Scotland. However, it would make a great difference if those payments could be automated for those who are in receipt of universal credit and tax credits. I understand that the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills is already acutely aware of that and is working with the UK Government on the provision of data to progress that—next year, we hope.

I was pleased to welcome Advice Direct Scotland to Parliament today. Supported with Scottish Government funding and based in my constituency of Glasgow Kelvin, it has a powerful benefits calculator on its website where people can check what Scottish benefits they are entitled to, including passported benefits. I commend that calculator to my colleagues and their constituents. Anyone struggling to check their entitlement can phone for friendly and helpful advice.

Social Security Scotland is a work in progress. It is growing in terms of the number of benefits that it delivers, the number of claimants that it supports, and the automation that it facilitates. It is delivering well for all those who are already engaged with it. Its urgent task is to identify those who are not yet claiming what they are entitled to and I urge the Government to consider all practical means of achieving that.

I am glad that the motion has been brought to the chamber so that we can celebrate the successes so far and move the debate forward so that we can improve further.

Thank you, minister.

We will move on to look at the future, and I will bring in Bob Doris.

There you go, minister—there is a lot for you to unpack, but I am sure that you are up to it. Off you go.