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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 28 November 2024
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Displaying 1602 contributions

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Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation

Meeting date: 1 February 2024

Bob Doris

Can I push you slightly further on that, Mr Smith? I am not trying to box clever here. There will undoubtedly be an impact, and that impact will not be beneficial in the slightest. I get that. Is the impact that you are talking about a revenue budget impact as opposed to an impact of the capital cut? I am trying to get at what the short-term impact is likely to be of the capital cut. Once you have answered that, I will bring in Mr MacRae, because I imagine that Shelter Scotland will have strong views on the issue.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation

Meeting date: 1 February 2024

Bob Doris

I asked Mr Smith whether there is a cut to the capital budget in the coming financial year. Mr Smith has perhaps cited consequences for less revenue support, and those are two different budget streams, I understand. I genuinely just want Mr Smith to put on the record what the short-term impact is likely to be of the cut to the Scottish budget in capital terms rather than revenue terms. If I have misunderstood Mr Smith, I apologise.

Mr Smith, do you want to add anything before Mr MacRae comes in?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation

Meeting date: 1 February 2024

Bob Doris

Thank you.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation

Meeting date: 1 February 2024

Bob Doris

Yes. I thought that it was quite an important point to make, convener.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Social Security Scotland

Meeting date: 1 February 2024

Bob Doris

Will that be done proportionately and respectfully, and will it be a reasonable request to make of the client?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Social Security Scotland

Meeting date: 1 February 2024

Bob Doris

It is a minute supplementary, convener, and it was inspired by your own question.

The convener asked about systems improvements that are prioritised. We have a large workforce in Social Security Scotland, a lot of whom moved over from the DWP and took the opportunity to put in place new innovations. What role does the workforce have in suggesting innovations and systems improvements? After all, they are the ones who are at the coalface and who have to deal with the reality of how the systems work. Anything you can put on the record about that would be quite helpful.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation

Meeting date: 1 February 2024

Bob Doris

Is that in the short term or the longer term? At face value, I can see that a disruption in the longer-term investment programme could cause poorer outcomes in the longer term, but, in the short term, what impact is the cut in the capital budget likely to have on homelessness?

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation

Meeting date: 1 February 2024

Bob Doris

That is helpful. Mr MacRae has mentioned the possibility of a change of Government at Westminster, which is an important point. It is also important to put on the record that any incoming Labour Government has not committed to ending the bedroom tax either. Indeed, Labour brought it in. That is now on the record.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Social Security Scotland

Meeting date: 1 February 2024

Bob Doris

I apologise for cutting across you.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Social Security Scotland

Meeting date: 1 February 2024

Bob Doris

I suppose that we will get a bit more detail at a later date anyway, but can you give an example of the client information that you might require, not to interrogate an individual but in order to use their data to get a feeling of what fraud looks like among agency claimants more generally? Can you give me an actual example? Then we can move on to the next question.