Chamber and committees

Analysis of management information shows that the most common reason for Job Start Payment applications being denied is that the applicant did not meet one or both of the key eligibility criteria i.e. that the applicant was not out of work and in receipt of a qualifying benefit for at least 6 months prior to being offered a job.

An initial evaluation of the benefit is currently being carried out which may shed further light on why applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria apply for Job Start Payment.

The Government’s spending plans are set out in the budget. We are already investing £361 million in Scottish benefits above the level of funding to be received from the UK Government through Block Grant Adjustments.

Increases to Scottish Child Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Child Disability Payment and Best Start Grant are made by Scottish Statutory Instrument under powers in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. Increases to Best Start Foods are made under section 13 of the Social Security Act 1988. The procedures for scrutinising proposed legislation are set out in the Standing Orders of the Parliament. Bridging Payments are made by local authorities on behalf of Scottish Ministers, the value of payments is set out in guidance to local authorities, published in April 2021.

In due course we will deliver the Scottish replacement for Winter Fuel Payment. It remains a reserved benefit until then.

In response to the question regarding the locations of recruitment campaigns for Social Security Scotland at advertisement and interview stage as of 18 February 2022, please find below a breakdown of current campaigns and roles by location. For the purposes of this response, we have interpreted the term roles to mean the number of full time equivalent posts we intend to fill through recruitment.

We currently have no plans to collect information on how many applicants for Young Carer Grant have No Recourse to Public Funds.

VoiceAbility has signed an agreement for premises on Bath St in Glasgow to house their Scottish HQ and bespoke training centre. This has been open and available since 1 March 2022. The premises will not be permanently staffed and will be used when required for training events and face-to-face meetings with clients.

This approach is consistent with VoiceAbility’s delivery model which is built around home-based staff and an existing network of accessible co-location venues in local communities, which allows them to reduce the cost of their service whilst being flexible and responsive to fluctuating demand.

Motability is currently the only provider accredited under the Accessible Vehicle and Equipment Scheme. The Scottish Government plans to begin work to re-open the Scheme to additional applicants later this year.

We will announce a timetable for this in due course. We will work with any new accredited providers to integrate and test their service, to ensure disabled people benefit from high standards of service.

Shona Robison: There is no central source for this information, however some of this information is held by local authorities and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

In November 2019, the Scottish Funding Council published a call for information to Scotland’s Colleges and Universities to seek assurances on fire safety in their respective estates. All Universities and colleges advised they had collated up to date information on the cladding types used on their buildings. All but one of 28 institutions reported satisfaction that all reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that where cladding is present, it is safe. The Scottish Government relayed this information to SFRS.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) are the enforcing authority for most non-domestic premises that are covered by Scottish fire safety legislation i.e. Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, as amended and the Fire Safety (Scotland) Regulations 2006. SFRS have a risk-based audit programme which targets activities and resources at premises which offer the greatest risk to the safety of relevant persons in the event of fire. SFRS enforcement activity is about promoting and enabling sustained compliance with the law. It also ensures that actions are taken to deal promptly with serious risk and that duty-holders who fail in their obligations are held to account. Confidential information on fire safety and to some extent, building construction, is therefore collected and evaluated as part of a SFRS enforcement audit.

Building warrant applications are checked by local authority verifiers for compliance with the building standards (including fire safety as set out in Section 2 of the Technical Handbooks). During construction, a Reasonable Inquiry process allows for assessment of the works in accordance with the approved (compliant) building warrant drawings. Only after a new building’s completion certificate is accepted by the verifier can the building be occupied. Local Authorities keep building standards registers, including building warrant records.

The Energy Investment Fund will close at the end of this financial year 2021-22. The Fund was established in 2013, (succeeding the Renewable Energy Investment Fund) with funding from the Fossil Fuel Levy, to address market failure in capital funding in specific renewable energy sectors. The Fund has been very successful over the years, however, the market for capital funding has changed since 2013. There are new investment mechanisms in place, through the Scottish National Investment Bank, which supports the Scottish Government's strategic priorities to achieving our net zero ambitions.

The Scottish Government has established a justice recovery fund of £53.2m in the next financial year to be allocated to recovery, renewal and transformation activity across the justice system as we emerge from the pandemic.

This includes funding of £26.5m to the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service to maintain enhanced court capacity and remote jury centres. In addition, we have allocated a further £4.2m to the SCTS resource budget, a 3.5% increase.

We have already previously committed an additional £50m in 2021-22 to support our ‘Recover, Renew, Transform’ programme for the Criminal Justice System – which has included setting up 16 additional solemn and summary courts from September.

The additional funds have and continue to be used in a variety of ways to increase capacity across the justice system, including: recruitment of additional staff; greater use of digital tools and improved support for victims and witnesses.

At present the programme includes; the operation of remote jury centres for the conduct of High Court and Sheriff and jury trials; fully virtual summary trials; virtual custody courts; changes to summary criminal process and; community justice and preventing offending.

In terms of civil business, the Scottish Civil Justice Council (SCJC) is the body that is tasked with modernising the civil justice system in Scotland. It is ultimately for the council to decide how civil court proceedings should proceed. SCJC has consulted on proposed new court rules concerning the mode of attendance in civil proceedings. These fall within the SCJC’s powers and functions under the Scottish Civil Justice Council and Criminal Legal Assistance Act 2013.

The Scottish Government is actively working with all justice partners including the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) and SCJC to review how civil business can best be conducted. We have appointed a contractor to undertake a remote hearing evaluation project to provide analysis of the changes to civil justice processes and procedures flowing from the pandemic response, with a particular focus on the adoption of ‘virtual hearings’. SCTS has fed into that process and is partly funding it. The primary aim of the research is to provide evidence to determine the value of the measures adopted by the Courts and Tribunals during the pandemic and if these measures need to be adapted or improved in any way. The research should be completed towards the end of 2022.

Within the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill, the Scottish Government has brought forward proposals to enable longer extension of provisions which suspend the requirement to physically attend a court or tribunal. The provisions seek to retain the ability for any participant in either criminal or civil proceedings to take part in any proceedings by way of live visual (television) or audio (telephone) link from any location.

In addition, I would refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06603 on 28 February 2022. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers 

The community needs assessment process is focussed on identifying communities needs for travel.

However, the procurement process for the next CHFS contract will consider potential community benefits including employment and training opportunities .