Chamber and committees

Richard, do you have experience of that in Glasgow?

I have no questions in this area, convener.

It is for anyone: I open it up widely.

Yes, I am happy to do so. My understanding is that, during Covid, hearings of the First-tier Tribunal either went online or took place over the telephone. A number of people have told me that those tribunal hearings are still happening over the telephone. From your experience, is that the best way to do it, or should we go back to their being face to face, as they were pre-Covid? Erica, it looks like you want to jump in.

I should point out, for the record, that I was previously a member of the First-tier Tribunal.

My question is for Erica Young. To broaden things out slightly, this is an opportunity for the Parliament to introduce a new social security benefit, if it wants to. Given the work that you do, if you had a magic wand and could introduce a new benefit, what would that be and who would you target it at?

I open the question to others. If we could introduce a new benefit, what should it be?

I have a couple of technical questions, and I will perhaps start with you, Mr Clancy.

Due to timing, the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee has not fully examined the delegated powers in the bill, but they are quite far reaching and wide. From a legal perspective, are you satisfied that the balance is about right regarding the powers that have been delegated to the Scottish Government, or should we take a bit more evidence on that?

I am grateful. Thank you for that.

Secondly, one of the issues that we debated long and hard when the Social Security (Scotland) Bill was going through Parliament was the social security charter. On the question of how it has worked in practice, has the charter made any significant difference to the client experience? We debated whether the charter should have any legal basis. Four or five years on from the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 being passed, should the charter have a legal status, or is it sitting in about the right place?

I appreciate that that question is slightly left field, so if you wish to take it away and write back to the committee, I would be happy with that if you do not have a view on it today.

I would like to pick up on one point. I know that we are looking at housing and homelessness in particular today, but, when we have considered dispersal previously, one issue that has come up is the lack of access to legal services outside central Scotland. I think that the committee last considered the issue a couple of years ago, and I wondered whether the situation had improved. If I go to Blairgowrie or Dumfries, for example, will I find that there is legal support there? Is that issue causing problems?

I have a second question, which I will ask just now. What is the impact on people whose asylum claim is refused, and how can they be supported? I invite Graham O’Neill to start this time.