Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-22092

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments in its duration of awards and automatic entitlement for disability assistance policy position paper, whether all information supplied to Social Security Scotland, regardless of whether it is formally regarded as a change of circumstance, would be permissible to justify a review before the indicated award review date.

Question reference: S5W-22057

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the statements in its position paper on Short Term Assistance, for what reason it decided to use the civil legal test of "balance of probabilities" to determine whether to reduce or stop an individual's payments during a fraud investigation, and whether it considered using the criminal legal test as part of this decision.

Question reference: S5W-22099

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments in its disability assistance qualifying periods policy position paper, what evidence it received that demonstrated that changing the qualifying periods for disability assistance would cause the people entitled to disability assistance to have "confusion and disruption"; who provided this advice, and whether it will publish it.

Question reference: S5W-22086

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the severe disablement allowance mortality statistics that it has requested from the DWP.

Question reference: S5W-22085

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comment in its disability assistance assessments policy position paper concerning suitably qualified assessors, whether it will publish the advice paper prepared by the Disability and Carers Benefits Expert Advisory Group regarding such assessors.

Question reference: S5W-22087

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates it has requested severe disablement allowance caseload data from the DWP, and whether the information provided included how many working age claimants were on the benefit at that time.

Question reference: S5W-22100

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 14 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the comments in its disability assistance qualifying periods policy position paper, what discussions it has had with the DWP regarding changing the qualifying periods for disability assistance; whether the DWP advised that change would threaten eligibility for reserved passported benefits and, if so, on what date.

Scottish Government and DWP officials are engaged in ongoing discussions regarding the safe and secure transfer of devolved benefits, including Disability Assistance. These discussions have included passporting arrangements for reserved benefits.

The Scottish Government does not have any powers to change reserved policy and DWP will continue to determine if someone in receipt of Disability Assistance in Scotland is entitled to receive a benefit or premium which is delivered by DWP.

Question reference: S5W-22109

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 13 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what devolved social security will be launched in Winter 2019, after the completion of wave 1 in Summer 2019 and ahead of the launch of the new service for disability assistance for children and young people.

Following the launch of our new Best Start Grant payments and Funeral Expense Assistance in summer 2019, we will launch our new Young Carer Grant in the autumn. The grant will provide £300 to young adults aged 16 and 17 (and 18 if still at school) with significant caring responsibilities.

We will also launch our new Job Grant, a consultation for which is currently under way, to support young people moving back into employment.

Question reference: S5W-22056

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the statements in its Support for Carers position paper, what other changes to eligibility clients and stakeholders have asked it to consider.

As part of building foundations for long term carer benefits, the Scottish Government has engaged with carers and carer organisations to identify potential areas for change. These suggestions include:

Extending the eligibility to those with multiple caring responsibilities and reducing the time required spent caring.
Exploring the possibility of introducing different levels of benefits for those with different caring commitments in different circumstances.
Removing restrictions on those studying and looking at ways of encouraging carers into work and education.
Exploring further payments for pensioners with caring responsibilities including to those already with underlying entitlements.
Extending the period that CA is paid to a carer when the cared-for person dies or goes into hospital.
Offering benefits in kind

Question reference: S5W-22055

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 20 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to consult on proposals regarding support for carers before 2021, and what the reasons are for its position on this.