Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring our policies are designed to best meet people’s needs, in the context of swingeing UK Government cuts to the overall welfare budget. That is why we have already committed to uprating disability benefits in line with inflation. Our recent consultation on social security in Scotland also sought views on the best way to ensure other benefits being devolved to Scotland, including Winter Fuel Payments, keep pace with the cost of living. We will shortly be publishing our response to the consultation along with information on next steps.

The Scottish Government is currently waiting for the UK Government to lay the necessary regulations to commence section 23 of the 2016 Scotland Act, which makes provision for heating expenses. Until the UK Government acts, the Scottish Parliament does not have competence in relation to that section.

There is no target for accreditation. The new model for accreditation is being tested across a 3-year period from November 2016, and current estimates are that around 150 organisations could go through the process in that period. This would enable all previously accredited organisations to go through the re-accreditation process, and allow for new applications for accreditation to be considered.

However these numbers are dependent on applications for accreditation/re-accreditation being made to the Scottish Government by the advice sector.

SLAB have publicised the availability of Type I audit and also encouraged organisations seeking accreditation at Type II and Type III to prepare for accreditation and to book slots for peer review. This has been done by circulating regular NewZapps directly to a wide range of advice sector contacts and via the networks of the SNSIAP Reference Group, which represents the key stakeholders from the advice sector. The SNSIAP webpage on SLAB’s website also highlights the availability of accreditation and highlights the guidance and tools available to support organisations

The Scottish Government has commissioned an independent organisation, Research Scotland, to carry out an analysis of all of the responses to the Scottish Government’s consultation on social security. The analysis report, which will be published shortly, will provide a summary of the findings to all of the questions, including those on winter fuel payments.

The Scottish Government wrote to the Minister of State for Welfare Reform on 15 December 2016 about the UK Government's proposals for “Exceptions to the limiting of the Child Element of Universal Credit to a maximum of two children”.

The letter made clear that the Scottish Government is fundamentally opposed both to the policy in its entirety and the way in which the UK Government plans to implement it. There is no acceptable process which can ever be put in place which requires a woman being forced to disclose being raped in order to access social security.

The list of Accredited Agencies published on the Scottish Government’s website at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Justice/policies/widening-access/standardsforadvisers indicates that there are 97 organisations accredited to the SNSIAP, some with multiple accreditations for different advice services.

Funding of up to £150,000 has been allocated for the further development and delivery of the Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice providers in 2016-17. Budgets for 2017-18 have not yet been finalised but it is anticipated that a maximum budget of £150,000 will be made available, depending on the content of the Budget Bill

Official statistics are currently available for the period to 15 September 2016. Of Council Tax Reduction claims in payment on this date, 11,710 started on or after 1 May 2016. There is no centrally-held data on the number of unsuccessful applications.

The previous model of accreditation involved a four-year year cycle after which audit and re-accreditation was needed. From the information available the majority of accreditation periods for organisations ran to 2014, 2015 or 2016. However there was a hiatus in availability of audit and accreditation, and Scottish Government agreed to roll on the accreditation of previously accredited advice services until a new system of accreditation/re-accreditation was in place.

As the Scottish Government agreed to roll on accreditation organisations have not ceased to be accredited.

Scottish Government funding for the Scottish National Standards for Information and Advice Providers accreditation since 2009 has been as follows:

2009-10 - £150,000

2010-11 - £150,000

2011-12 - £150,000

2012-13 - £150,000

2013-14 - nil*

2014-15 - £116,500

2015-16 - £100,000

2016-17 - £150,000

From 2009-10 to 2012-13 funding was directed towards contracted delivery of the audit process.

It was not possible to award a contract in 2013-14 and the Money Advice Service delivered and funded the accreditation process for this year.

Since 2014-15, the Standards have been undergoing redevelopment and these represent development costs. Those organisations that were due to seek reaccreditations had there accreditation continued during this time.

In 2016-17 the budget includes the first tranche of accreditations that will be delivered under the new audit process.