Chamber and committees

Responsibility for ensuring benefit and tax credit uptake lies with the UK Government, however the Scottish Government recognises that providing national and local services that support benefit uptake can significantly increase household income. Through the Achieving Our Potential budget, the Scottish Government continues to fund some innovative initiatives which work with people to ensure that they receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

Macmillan Cancer Support has been allocated £406,500 this financial year to continue to provide income maximisation across the five cancer treatment centres in Scotland and in two NHS boards for patients with long-term conditions.

Linkwide has received £300,000 to continue their older people’s advice service, which provides an outreach support and advice service in Falkirk, Clackmannanshire, North Lanarkshire and West Lothian to vulnerable older people with a particular emphasis on clients who have health problems, or who live in remote areas.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde received over £1 million for the Healthier, Wealthier Children project in 2009-11, which continues to provide financial inclusion and other support to vulnerable families in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, with a multi-agency approach to referrals and intervention.

Citizens Advice Direct continues to receive £80,000 this financial year to provide telephone benefit checks to those people referred through the Energy Assistance Package and Home Insulation Scheme.

The Child Poverty Action Group provides a second tier advice service and has received £408,000 this year to deliver the second tier advice, information and training services, and the Benefits for Students Training, Advice and Information Service. This offers advice, training and support to frontline staff that are in contact with households that are likely to be entitled to benefits and tax credits.

In addition, a number of organisations and initiatives receive Scottish Government funding to provide a wide range of support to individuals and families which includes benefits advice, for example Parenting in Scotland, Citizens Advice Direct, Contact-a-Family and the Family Nurse Partnership.

It’s important to note that the majority of services to support benefit entitlement are provided by local government and their third sector partners funded through the local government settlement.

Imposing a requirement on contractors to pay their employees a living wage which is more than the National Minimum Wage could amount to a restriction on the freedom to provide services guaranteed by article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This issue was the subject of a judgment of the European Court of Justice in the case of Ruffert v Land Niedersachsen [C-346/06]. A copy of the judgment can be found on the Curia website http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/jcms/j_6/.

My officials have arranged to meet with counterparts at the London Olympic Delivery Authority in June 2011 to discuss the living wage in the context of public procurement processes and policies.

Scottish Government analysts estimate that approximately 4,600 NHS Scotland staff have received a wage increase as a result of the introduction of the living wage.