Chamber and committees

Yes—they are absolutely good use of resources, because they will help people throughout their journey. There was strong demand for those initiatives to be introduced during the progress through Parliament of the Social Security (Scotland) Bill in 2016-17, which became the 2018 act. Those things are investments in the people of Scotland and are the result of extensive consultation of people with experience of the social security system, and of disabled people’s organisations and experts. I am confident that that will result in a significantly better experience for people who apply for and receive the adult disability payment.

That, too, reflects points that I made earlier—that it is hugely important that social security be treated as a human right, and that we want to deliver it using the principles of dignity, fairness and respect that we are committed to.

Is that question about the review of the adult disability payment?

This is a significant moment. We are delivering in as straightforward a way as possible, we will always start from a position of trust and people will be able to choose how they apply and the channel that best meets their needs. We will fund the independent advocacy service, so there will be no DWP-style assessments or functional examinations. We will need to collect only one piece of formal supporting information when making a decision, and the onus will be on Social Security Scotland to collect that on people’s behalf.

We will give equal consideration to all sources of information, including the client’s family, carers and friends. Importantly, and as has been emphasised throughout our discussion, we will apply the eligibility criteria fairly and consistently to get more of our decisions right the first time. We will take full account of people’s needs and fluctuating conditions, and people will still be able to access short-term assistance if they challenge an adult disability payment decision. Finally, we will, of course, fast track applications from people with a terminal illness.

We are doing so much that we should all be positive about. Of course, as we have discussed, as the process of delivering the adult disability payment combined with the case transfer process progresses, the review and further discussion will help us to think collectively about what future constructive changes we can make over and above these significant improvements.

The evaluation programme will assess the operation of key aspects of the delivery of the new benefits, including the new procedures that are applicable to the adult disability payment as they unfold, such as the provision of supporting information, special rules for terminal illness, client consultations, case transfer from UK benefits and decision-making processes.

The first of those thematic evaluations is an assessment of the operation of the provision of supporting information for benefit decisions, drawing on the experience of the child disability payment, which will be commissioned later this year, and further aspects of evaluation that might require more evidence from the adult disability payment in particular, such as consultations, terminal illness rules and award duration that require the caseload to build up over time and the consequences to emerge. We will of course be cognisant of that.

The engagement of stakeholders has been so important up to this point. We invite academic and third sector organisations to our annual social security evaluation forum to discuss our approaches to evaluating benefits. We will continue to engage with stakeholders appropriately and meaningfully. As I have said throughout our considerations today, we deeply value the input of our stakeholders, not just in considering the regulations before us but through the whole process of establishing Scotland’s new social security system, which is making and will continue to make a significant and meaningful difference for people in our communities all across the country.

There is nothing further from me. I hope that the information that officials and I have provided has covered the points that Ms Duncan-Glancy wished us to cover.

From the perspective of someone who receives CDP, the process of applying for adult disability payment has been designed to minimise gaps in entitlement to ensure that it is as smooth as possible. In contrast to the current system, young people will be given significant flexibility in choosing when to apply for adult disability payment after their 16th birthday. A person’s child disability payment will stop only when a positive determination is made in relation to adult disability payment. If they do not receive any award of adult disability payment, their child disability payment will continue until their 18th birthday.

There will be that additional support, and a range of measures will be put in place to ensure that the process at that key transition point is as straightforward as possible. People will be able to access a single secure digital portal to apply for all forms of assistance, update information and check eligibility, and a local service delivery team will be there for in-person support. If young people need support with applying for adult disability payment, they will also be entitled to the support of our independent advocacy service, to which of course we are committing £20 million.

Considerations will be in place for those who are on child disability payment in their application for adult disability payment, as I have set out. I hope that that answers Mr Choudhury’s questions.

I want to bring in Nathan Gale to elaborate on some of the points that I made on psychological distress, safety and case law, which I hope will be helpful in answering Pam Duncan-Glancy’s questions.

The considerations around passporting and treating ADP on a like-for-like basis with PIP took place with the UK Government before my appointment. In the three meetings that I have had with UK ministers since my appointment, the discussions have focused on how we go forward, other aspects of the social security system, and the UK Government’s green paper and what that will mean for the delivery of disability benefits in Scotland and the interaction between the two systems.

The engagement that took place with ministers and officials on considerations around passporting took place during the previous parliamentary session. It is important to emphasise that throughout the numerous discussions over that period, the DWP consistently made it clear that passporting was subject to the delivery of a like-for-like system. That was the clear position of the DWP throughout that period.

Achieving the changes that we have made to eligibility criteria in the regulations that are before you today, which my officials and I spoke about earlier—for example, making the reliability criteria more fully defined—required significant engagement with DWP.

There has been engagement. We are in the process of having a hybrid system, and we need to deliver new benefits and undertake case transfer. Based on feedback from stakeholders, and because we think that it is the right thing to do, we have prioritised safe and secure delivery. Part of safe and secure delivery is making sure that passported benefits are secured in the process and that the adult disability payment and PIP are treated as like-for-like for passporting by the DWP.

Those are important questions. I will bring Janet Richardson in, shortly.

First, and briefly, I hope that the letter that I sent yesterday was of interest to the committee and has reassured you that we are on track with recruitment of case managers and practitioners. We have recruited case managers, practitioners and senior practitioners with backgrounds in social care, social work, nursing, learning disabilities, mental and general health, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. The skill set that spans those backgrounds is vast and includes experience with cancer, kidney disease, neurodiversity, long-term mental ill health, adults with problematic alcohol or substance abuse, arthritis, eating disorders and so on. Recruitment has focused on senior practitioners to ensure that there is experience of leading teams of health and social care professionals.

We have facilitated, with Social Security Scotland, monthly internal information sessions, to which we have invited people who are interested in our vacancies to learn more about our job roles, and to encourage further recruitment.

Everyone who delivers disability assistance, including practitioners, will undergo robust training that is reflective of the core values of dignity, fairness and respect. That will include training on the impact of common health conditions. Wherever possible, training will be developed in consultation with, and delivered in conjunction with, people with lived experience of health conditions and disabilities. Training will be ongoing; Social Security Scotland will continue to look for ways to add to staff training and will work with other organisations to provide it. That is in order to ensure that we continue to get insight from stakeholders, particularly about conditions on which it is important that there is awareness within the agency and among people who make decisions, of the subtleties, complexities and nuances of certain conditions. Specific training and guidance on the special rules on terminal illness will also be provided to practitioners and case managers.

I could say a lot more, but I will leave it there, in the interests of time. I would be grateful if Janet Richardson could come in briefly with any points that I have not made. Of course, Janet already mentioned that we have recruited people with expertise in working with young people. Over to you, Janet.

Please excuse me, but I am not aware of the changes that have been announced today, which maybe says more about the UK Government’s approach to intergovernmental relations than anything else. I look forward to examining them with interest.

People will be able to apply in a way that suits them best: online, in person through our local delivery teams, on the phone or through video call. Those aspects of our system will make a difference and improve accessibility. The process of going through an online application will be significantly improved. We have designed the user interface in such a way that people’s experience will be better. The process will be much more helpful to them and it will ensure that we get accurate findings at the end. There will be support through the local delivery teams and the independent advocacy service, which is not available elsewhere in the UK.

I am grateful to Mr Briggs for raising the points about DWP announcements. I look forward to examining them and perhaps talking to the committee and Mr Briggs about them in due course.

Over and above what Janet Richardson has said, you will note from the letter that I sent yesterday that there are confirmed start dates for 37 candidates, 20 practitioners and 17 senior practitioners between now and April. That is in addition to the 29 that Janet Richard mentioned.