Chamber and committees

Social security payments, including Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs), are a reserved matter.

However the Scottish Government has been working closely with local authority representatives since the UK Government announced its welfare reforms in autumn 2010 to help understand, influence and, as far as reasonably possible, mitigate the impact of changes to housing benefit. A questionnaire was developed jointly between the Scottish Government and COSLA and was sent by COSLA to all local authorities on 24 May 2012. A summary of findings, which includes information on DHPs, is available at:

http://www.cosla.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/briefing_-_bedroom_tax_main_findings.pdf.

The available information from the survey on the number of DHP applications received by individual councils and the number of awards made by end May or nearest available date is contained in the following table (rounded to the nearest 10). The survey did not gather information on the tenure of households applying for or receiving DHPs.

The number of awards only provides a snapshot between 1 April and the end of May 2013 (or nearest available date) and takes no account of the number of applications that were received and still being processed.

In October 2013 the Department for Work and Pensions is gathering data from councils on the numbers and total amounts of DHPs granted in the period April – September 2013. This will provide a more reliable indication of the scale and nature of DHPs being awarded by councils, set against their DHP allocation. The survey will not gather information on applications which were refused, nor on the tenure of the households being awarded DHPs.

Source – COSLA/Scottish Government Survey of Councils – 24 May 2013.

Between national censuses, the Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP) collects data on breeding numbers and breeding success of 26 species of seabirds which enables populations to be estimated, where there is sufficient data to do so. Further details of the SMP and the data held can be found at: http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-1550

For the gull species the following estimates can be derived;

VAT and national insurance are reserved matters. As such, it is the responsibility of the UK Government to assess the impact of its decisions on VAT and national insurance. However, it is widely understood that VAT, in particular, is a regressive tax. This, coupled with significant changes to welfare from 2010, will have reduced the spending power of low income households.

Scottish Government officials regularly meet with the Scottish General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association to discuss a range of issues, and we are aware the workload associated with patient requests for assistance with benefits appeals is of concern to GPs. The Scottish Government shares the profession’s concerns that the established contractual and agreed methods for GPs to directly provide medical information to the Department for Work and Pensions are not being used effectively by the department. These issues were discussed at a meeting on 13 March 2013 between Scottish Government officials and the Chair of the British Medical Association’s Scottish General Practitioners’ Committee.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16479 and SW4-16480 on 14 August 2013. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Deputy First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing wrote to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in April 2013 with the full support of the British Medical Association in Scotland, to raise a number of points of concern about the demands that benefit reform is placing on GPs. Welfare benefit reform is placing intolerable demands on primary care and we have recommended that The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) undertakes urgent research on these demands. GPs are trying to do their best for their patients while coping with a growing demand for evidence for appeals.

The Secretary of State wrote back to say that his department’s Chief Medical Adviser had been actively engaging with GPs in Scotland and that progress was being made in reviewing the Work Capability Assessments through Professor Harrington’s three reviews.

The Deputy First Minister wrote again on 3 June 2013 in response to the Secretary of State’s reply highlighting that we remained concerned by the apparent inequities arising from variable behaviours of GPs in providing medical evidence, an activity which is outside of their contractual terms.

The DWP is currently carrying out its fourth independent review of the Work Capability Assessment, and we understand that Dr Paul Litchfield who is leading the review will be making a visit to Scotland in the near future to gather evidence.

It is very difficult to obtain an accurate analysis of this because GPs are often providing information for patients for benefits appeals in their own time, and this is not part of their contractual arrangements. GPs have reported that they are seeing a significant rise in requests from patients for medical information to support appeals against welfare benefit assessment findings. This is creating a workload problem, particularly for practices that serve communities with larger numbers of benefit claimants. We have asked the Department for Work and Pensions to urgently undertake research on the demands that welfare reform is placing on primary care.

The Health Impact Delivery Group, which comprises representatives from the Scottish Government policy directorates, local government, the NHS, the voluntary sector and the Glasgow Centre for Population Health has been established. This is a forum which will consider the impact of the introduction of reforms to the welfare benefits system in Scotland both on population health and the demand for healthcare services. As well as identifying areas of good practice, it will highlight where further discussion is required, or where action might be taken.

Working in partnership with local government, we responded quickly to put in place transitional arrangements to plug the estimated £40 million gap in funding from the UK Government following their abolition of council tax benefit. This ensures that around 560,000 people in Scotland who were receiving council tax benefit are protected from the UK Government’s 10% cut in successor arrangement funding. This means that vulnerable people have the same net liability for council tax as if council tax benefit were still in place, provided their circumstances remain the same. This includes around 70,100 people who are receiving employment and support allowance, indicating that they have an illness or disability that affects their ability to work.

The SPCB does not operate an internship programme. It is of course open to any parliamentary group to introduce an internship scheme if it wishes. 

The Scottish Government is watching these developments closely. However, there are a number of Member States in the EU who share our concerns about growing GM crops and there is no indication that they will change their views in light of the UK Government’s recent proposal.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-16016 on 18 July 2013 regarding constraints on the Scottish Government under current constitutional arrangements. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the UK Government at both official and Ministerial level and discusses a wide range of GM issues. The UK Government is well aware of our distinct views on GM crop cultivation.

Under the correct constitutional arrangement, in the event of any move by Scottish Government to invoke the safeguard clause, to allow temporary restriction or a ban on a GM crop, on the basis of new scientific evidence that it may harm human or animal health or the environment, the Scottish Government would have to persuade UK Government, on its behalf, to submit a safeguard action. With the UK Government’s apparently positive stance on GMOs, this may prove difficult.