Pam Duncan-Glancy

10 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government on what dates the last (a) regular Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare and (b) bilateral meeting between the Department for Work and Pensions and Scottish Ministers, took place. 

Answer · Shona Robison: The last meeting of the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare took place on 2 November 2021. The last bilateral meeting was held between the Minister for Social Security and Local Government and UK Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work on 3 Novem…

10 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the new VoiceAbility head office to open in Glasgow.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: VoiceAbility has signed an agreement for premises on Bath St in Glasgow to house their Scottish HQ and bespoke training centre. This has been open and available since 1 March 2022. The premises will not be permanently staffed and will be used when required fo…

10 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on the development of a temporary accommodation standards framework. 

Answer · Shona Robison: Following our consultation in 2019, a short-life working group, chaired by Jim Hayton, was established in October 2021 and has met five times to date. So far, the working group has considered:Amendments required to the existing advisory standards and how the …

10 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a breakdown of the costs that it anticipates to cover with the £20.4 million that it has committed to provide over the next four years for the advocacy service, which will be provided by VoiceAbility.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05383 on 21 January 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committ…

10 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the working group on the temporary accommodation standards framework to publish its proposals.

Answer · Shona Robison: Following our consultation in 2019, a short-life working group was established in October 2021 to help produce a new temporary accommodation standards framework, identify if legislative changes are required, consider how the framework can be applied and regul…

10 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many jobs due to be created within VoiceAbility will be based in the new head office in Glasgow. 

Answer · Ben Macpherson: VoiceAbility has recruited 16 advocates to date and have a further 15 on reserve from the recruitment process. VoiceAbility will create up to 100 new roles in Scotland, and will continue to recruit as the demand for the service increases. As highlighted in t…

10 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what training is being provided to staff working with VoiceAbility to ensure that they can provide support to people, dealing with Social Security Scotland, to participate in the decisions and processes that affect them.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: My officials have worked closely with VoiceAbility, and continue to support them to develop comprehensive training packages for their advocates. This training will be delivered through VoiceAbility’s newly established training centre and Scottish headquarters…

10 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote its Best Start Grant School Age Payment. 

Answer · Ben Macpherson: There are a number of actions in place to promote Best Start Grant School Age Payment. We are promoting this payment as part of the Five Family Payments campaign. This campaign focuses on the three Best Start Grant payments, Best Start Foods and Scottish Chil…

10 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the Adult Disability Payment and the planned initial review of the "moving around" criteria, by when it will (a) finalise the planning and scoping and (b) update Parliament on the progress of the review; how long it anticipates that the review will last, and by when it anticip…

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government will shortly begin the first stage of the Adult Disability Payment Review. Priority will be given to identifying proposals for alternative ways of understanding the mobility needs of individuals, and planning stakeholder engagement to …

8 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will encourage rail operators in Scotland to make use of new media tools such as WhatsApp to enable widening accessibility within the rail network, such as the service that has been introduced by TransPennine Express.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Yes, we will continue to encourage rail operators in their use of new media tools to improve levels of customer service. Since ScotRail launched their Whatsapp facility in September 2019, they have received approximately 45,000 messages via WhatsApp. ScotRai…

8 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what potential risks it has identified of underestimating the cost of the Adult Disability Payment.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government works closely with the Scottish Fiscal Commission to provide the data and information necessary to inform their forecasts. The Scottish Fiscal Commission outlined the uncertainties of forecasting Adult Disability Payment in their Augu…

8 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that 130 Child Disability Payment applications, which did not exceed the six-week timeframe, did not progress to stage two, and what the reasons were for this.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The statistics that Social Security Scotland publish on Child Disability Payment applications are a snapshot in time. The high level statistics from the 26 July to 21 November 2021 show only part 2 application forms that were registered up until the 21 Novemb…

8 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether there have been any instances of Child Disability Payment applications not progressing as a result of staff error.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: Information on whether an application has been subject to a staff error is not routinely reported as part of Social Security Scotland’s processes.

8 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish information on the reasons for Child Disability Payment applications not proceeding to stage two of the application process.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: Social Security Scotland does not intend to routinely publish information on the reasons for Child Disability Payment applications not proceeding to part two of the application process. Applicants have six weeks from the completion of part 1 of the Child Dis…

3 Feb 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage local authorities to (a) implement measures to make streets and pavements accessible for disabled people and (b) ensure there are lowered kerbs and correct tactile paving where needed.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Ensuring paths and pavements are clear and accessible for all’ is a key objective within our Accessible Travel Framework and a current priority in our Annual Delivery Plan . The Scottish Government continues to work collaboratively with a range of differe…

27 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the reported concerns of the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland that Motability Operations is profiting from disabled people.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: I met with the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) on 25 January 2022. We share with MACS a concern to ensure the best service possible to disabled people and value for money for taxpayers. The Government has noted that Motability has committed …

27 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Motability Operations in connection with the transfer of the disability benefits scheme to Scotland.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government met Motability Operations Limited on 21 October 2021 to discuss the Accessible Vehicle and Equipment Scheme in Scotland and the role of Motability as an accredited provider for the Scheme.…

27 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of whether ScotRail Trains Ltd and ScotRail Holdings Ltd will fall within the scope of the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government considers that both Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd and ScotRail Trains Ltd should be subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty. It is our intention for this requirement to be included in the governance arrangements for both organisations.

25 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take to address any pay disparities that exist for social workers in different local authorities, including differences in starting salaries.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government is aware of variations in social worker pay across different local authorities, both at recruitment stage and throughout their careers. Social workers primarily practice within, and are employed by local authorities. Each local authori…

18 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis it has undertaken of the six-week time limit within which applicants must complete both parts of the Child Disability Payment application process.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: Social Security Scotland routinely monitors applications received and the time between when part 1 and part 2 of applications are submitted. Information on applications received is published as part of routine Official Statistics publications on Child Disabi…

18 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, of the applications that have been received for Child Disability Payment that did not progress to part 2, how many had exceeded the six-week time limit to do so.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: From the 26 July 2021 to the 21 November 2021, 65 applications for Child Disability Payment did not progress to part 2 within the six week time period.

18 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the reasons are for setting a time limit of six weeks within which applicants must complete both parts of the Child Disability Payment application process.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The purpose of setting a six week period is to balance the need to ensure that decisions can be dealt with as quickly as possible, with providing applicant’s sufficient time to seek supporting information, or to request help from Social Security Scotland to o…

12 Jan 2022 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how it is supporting people working in the cultural and arts sectors.

11 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will publish monitoring data on the Scotspirit Holiday Voucher Scheme.

Answer · Ivan McKee: This information is not currently available. Our Charity partners were given a deadline of 17 January to return their reports on ScotSpirit Activity processed up until the end of the year (2021). We are still waiting for a few partners to return their data an…

11 Jan 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to the National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy that was announced in its Programme for Government.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy in this parliamentary term. Funding allocations to individual portfolios for 2022-23 will be confirmed following the passage of the Budget (Scotland) Bill. Decisio…

23 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will commit to putting guidance in place to ensure that there are suitable access arrangements at COVID-19 vaccination centres for people with unseen impairments. 

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government meets with health boards on a regular basis to discuss the vaccination programme. Ensuring it is as accessible as possible for everyone is a key priority. As individual requirements are different, anyone who has concerns about access a…

22 Dec 2021 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to strengthen the legal requirements for dog breeding.

21 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a detailed breakdown of the £20 million it has invested in social security advocacy.

Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government intends to allocate up to £5.1m per annum to cover the costs of the advocacy provision over a four year period. All of the funding is provided for the establishment and operation of the new service. However, this is a demand-led servic…

21 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it expects top priority data sets, identified through the Equality Data Improvement Programme, to be published.

Answer · Shona Robison: Through the Equality Data Improvement Programme, officials recently undertook an audit of datasets used by the Scottish Government to identify the extent to which data on each of the nine protected characteristics are collected and published. The next stage, …

16 Dec 2021 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government by what date it expects to begin its evaluation of the Winter Support Fund.

Answer · Shona Robison: In line with the terms and conditions associated with the Winter Support funding, the Scottish Government expects to begin receiving evaluation reports in April 2022.