Chamber and committees

Social Security Scotland uses data from the Department of Work and Pensions to send ‘Invitation to Apply’ letters. This does not mean that the Department of Work and Pensions supplies Social Security Scotland with data on every live Universal Credit claim in Scotland as it would not be appropriate for them to share data which we do not need to deliver our services.

Instead, the Department of Work and Pensions only shares data on live Scottish Universal Credit claims, where the client’s family includes a child or children under the age of 6 years old. This data does not cover claims that have ended, in the period since the last extract of data was shared, or any unprocessed Universal Credit applications.

This data enables Social Security Scotland to process Best Start Grant and Best Start Food applications. We compare the data received from the Department for Work and Pension, against our records of the payments we have already made and the applications we have received, so that we do not send an ‘Invitation to apply’ letter to anyone who has already had a payment or who has recently applied.

Social Security Scotland will write to families once for each Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods that they may be eligible for.

As part of operating the Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, Department for Work and Pensions provides information monthly and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs provide information weekly.

Social Security Scotland will be reviewing the effectiveness of the letters and this will inform future use of Invitation to Apply.

Fair Start Scotland aims to support those who face the greatest challenges accessing the labour market. For carers who are faced with the challenge of returning to work, it provides flexible support, taking into account personal circumstances and removing barriers to accessing work.

It is delivered collaboratively across a range of private, public and third sector delivery partners including a range of specialist providers to ensure people receive the right type of support.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28039 on 3 April 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The rescheduling of the introduction of disability benefits as a result of Coronavirus meant that it was necessary to end the tendering exercise which was being undertaken for the provision of a comprehensive advocacy service before it had been concluded. The original tender contained specifications on what information would be gathered from the service provider and reported on in due course.

We launched an interim advocacy service on 30 June to support disabled people to access Social Security Scotland benefits.

During the course of this interim service we will work with appointed advocacy service providers to collate appropriate information to report on. As take up of the interim service is anticipated to be low, any reporting will be dependent on not compromising the identity of those making use of the service.

The re-tender for the comprehensive service will again contain specifications on information gathering for reporting purposes.

73 directly employed staff have ended their employment with the Scottish Government since the start of the lockdown. We do not record vacant posts within our central HR system, nor is every post retained after being vacated. We therefore do not have information on how many of these posts remain unfilled. However, we currently have 72 external recruitment campaigns, which includes vacancies created by these leavers.

A pause in routine recruitment commenced on Friday 27th March 2020. The pause in routine external recruitment was lifted on Monday 20 July. There is no date at this time for ending the pause in routine internal recruitment. Covid and other critical recruitment has continued through the lockdown period.

Social Security Scotland will publish the advice and guidance supplied to decision makers on the benefits which it currently delivers by Summer 2020.

The Scottish Government did not have a forecast of the numbers expected to be recruited prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. Under normal circumstances, the level of recruitment activities can vary significantly, with the range of monthly recruitment before the lockdown being between 160 to 200 posts within core Scottish Government, its Executive Agencies and Non-ministerial Offices filled by external recruitment. The focus since the outbreak has been on ensuring that Covid-19 related priorities are resourced.

The rescheduling of the introduction of disability benefits as a result of Coronavirus meant that it was necessary to end the tendering exercise which was being undertaken for the provision of a comprehensive advocacy service before it had been concluded.

However, because it was anticipated that there may still be some demand for the service from disabled people who are seeking to apply for the existing Scottish benefits, as well as for Scottish Child Payment once it is introduced, the Scottish Government made arrangements to support that demand as it arises.

To this end, an interim service has been implemented and commenced on 30 June. Due to the tight timescales for this interim scheme’s implementation, it was not possible to engage with advocacy providers in the run up to the launch of the scheme.

We are however currently working with advocacy service providers to support the interim scheme, and will continue to do so during the development of a longer-term solution that will be in place for the introduction of Scottish disability benefits.