Mark Griffin

12 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Overarching Delivery Agreement with COSLA permits the co-location of Social Security Scotland staff in (a) schools and (b) GP practices.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Delivery Agreement covers Local Authority facilities and, while it doesn’t prescribe specific locations or exclude other arrangements, it notes the characteristics that Social Security Scotland will look for when considering co-location. Key to the agreem…

11 Sep 2018 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the Police Scotland response to sectarian hate crime.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Sectarian hate crime - like any hate crime - has a hugely damaging effect on victims and communities so it is important that everybody plays their part to challenge it. That is why we fully support Police Scotland in taking robust action to both tackle hate c…

11 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the budget is for Universal Credit (Scottish choices), and how much has been spent, broken down by (a) staffing costs, (b) communications, (c) payments to the DWP for (i) the flexibilities take up, (ii) training and (iii) implementation, and (d) other costs.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Universal Credit (UC) Scottish choices do not have a separate budget line in the Social Security budget. Costs are contained within the allocated budget for the Social Security Directorate. This includes all staffing and communications costs associated with U…

6 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when sections 3, 8 and 9 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 will commence.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Sections 3, 8 and 9 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 will be commenced later this autumn.

5 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-17179 by Derek Mackay on 21 June 2018, how many staff transferred from the DWP under Cabinet Office Statement of Practice (COSoP) terms, and, of these, how many have a protected characteristic, broken down by characteristic.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: We currently have no former DWP staff working within Social Security Scotland who have transferred under the terms of the Cabinet Office Statement of Practice.

5 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when the Social Security Scotland Audit and Assurance Committee will first meet.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The first meeting of Social Security Scotland’s Audit and Assurance Committee will fall in line with the audit cycle and will take place before the end of this year.

5 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the non-executive and independent external members of the Social Security Scotland Audit and Assurance Committee have been appointed, and who these members are.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The recruitment process to appoint new non-executive members to the Executive Advisory Body of Social Security Scotland was launched on 1 June 2018. Successful candidates have been identified and we will make the names of these non-executive members available…

5 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what Social Security Scotland statistics and delivery-focused research will be published by the Government Statistics, Social Research and the Operational Research Service in 2018-19.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As the executive competence for the administration of a benefit transfers to Scotland, Social Security Scotland will publish statistics for Scotland on that benefit. In line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, publication dates for statistics for Social…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-17179 by Derek Mackay on 21 June 2018, how many staff transferred from the Social Security Directorate, and, of these, how many have a protected characteristic, broken down by characteristic.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: On the 31 August there were 150 people who transferred from the Social Security Agency Implementation Division within Social Security Directorate in the Scottish Government to Social Security Scotland. The following table provides a breakdown on protected cha…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-17179 by Derek Mackay on 21 June 2018, how many Social Security Scotland staff have a protected characteristic, broken down by characteristic.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As at 7 September 2018,163 staff were employed in Social Security Scotland. The breakdown of protected characteristics are as follows: Diversity breakdown of current Social Security Scotland staff Gender N % Female 100 61.35% Male 63 38.65% All 1…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-17179 by Derek Mackay on 21 June 2018, how many people who (a) applied, (b) interviewed and (c) were appointed for positions at the social security agency had a protected characteristic (i) since 1 May 2018, and (ii) in total since recruitment began…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Not all of the data requested is available. We hold a record of agreed interview dates and agreed start dates but we have no way to confirm whether a candidate actually attended the interview or ended up taking up the post. Table A: Breakdown of diversity ch…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it agreed the Social Security Scotland (a) corporate and (b) annual business plan for 2018-19, and whether it will publish this.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland's Corporate Plan will be published shortly, as an interim document. As with everything it does, Social Security Scotland will develop and iterate its Corporate Plan in collaboration with stakeholder communities. Social Security Scotla…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) strategic objectives and (b) performance targets are for Social Security Scotland.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland's strategic objectives will be introduced in the Agency's Corporate Plan. The Corporate Plan will be published shortly, as an interim document. As with everything it does, Social Security Scotland will develop and iterate its strategi…

4 Sep 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the budget is for Social Security Scotland.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland is an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. The Agency went live on 1 September 2018 and is currently accountable for payment of Carer’s Allowance in Scotland and payment of the Carer’s Allowance Supplement. The budget for the…

28 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes access to welfare rights support as a form of social prescribing, and which NHS boards and GP practices are leading this work.

Answer · Joe FitzPatrick: Scottish Government support for advice services is intended to maximise household resources and ensure people understand their statutory rights and have recourse to redress if those rights are not upheld. The Scottish Government is funding a part-time welfar…

28 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it tracks and quantifies social prescribing.

Answer · Jeane Freeman: The Scottish Government does not track and quantify social prescribing, although a 2017 report for the Scottish Government by Voluntary Health Scotland found this approach underway in 31 of the 32 Scottish local authority areas.

27 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the black and minority ethnic (BME) membership of the social security charter core group is.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government received more than 300 applications for the core group but, unfortunately, none of these were from black or minority ethnic communities. Despite this, we remain committed to ensuring that the perspectives of seldom heard and hard to r…

27 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many people on the social security charter core group have a protected characteristic, broken down by characteristic.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) prevent the publication of protected characteristics for small groups of people. Such data is sensitive and breaking down a group of 30 people by nine characteristics could lead to the identification of individuals. …

27 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-18076 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 17 August 2018, whether it has advised third sector partners and the Disability and Carers Benefit Advisory Group regarding the date that it will provide this analysis.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The analysis of this survey will be published later in 2018. At this point, the findings will be shared with the Disability and Carer Benefits Expert Advisory Group via email. The group will be given the opportunity to discuss the findings and next steps with…

21 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government when it will next publish the Scottish Universal Credit Choices management information, and for what reason this has not been updated since 23 January 2018.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: As Universal Credit is reserved to the UK Government, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) collects data on the Universal Credit Scottish choices on behalf of the Scottish Government. In line with good practice, the Scottish Government then carries out …

16 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the qualifying date is for the first payment of the carer's allowance supplement.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The qualifying date for the first payment of Carer’s Allowance Supplement is 16 April 2018.  

9 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has responded, or plans to respond, to the Social Security Advisory Committee consultation on the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Managed Migration) Amendment Regulations 2018, and whether it will publish this response.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Scottish Government responded to the Social Security Advisory Committee consultation on the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (Managed Migration) Amendment Regulations 2018, on 20 August 2018. A copy was also sent to the Social Security Committee.

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the outcome was of its consultation, A Connected Scotland: Tackling social isolation and loneliness and building stronger social connections.

Answer · Christina McKelvie: The consultation closed at the end of April. Over 400 responses were received, and are now being analysed. The Scottish Government will publish a report summarising the findings in the autumn.  

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the list of minutes on the Ill Health and Disability Benefits Stakeholder Reference Group's page on its website has not been updated since December 2017.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The website has recently been updated and the Minutes of the Ill Health and Disability Benefits Stakeholder Reference Group meeting of 12 December 2017 are now available at: https://beta.gov.scot/groups/ill-health-and-disability-benefits-stakeholder-referen…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether the Ill Health and Disability Benefits Stakeholder Reference Group has met since October 2017, and whether it will publish the minutes of any meetings on the group's page on its website.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: The Ill Health and Disability Benefits Stakeholder Reference group has met twice since October 2017 and cleared minutes are published on the website at https://beta.gov.scot/groups/ill-health-and-disability-benefits-stakeholder-reference-group/ . Minutes f…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the commitment in its Race Equality Framework 2016-2030, what work it is doing to fill any gaps in its knowledge of how and to what extent BME groups are accessing the benefits that they are entitled to.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Scotland will put in place equality monitoring of its services, including for ethnicity, and will report on this as part of its performance statistics each year. This will be reviewed as set out in the Social Security Scotland Act (2018).  

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11055 by Jeane Freeman on 18 September 2017, in light of its commitment to do so "at a later stage", whether it now monitors the ethnicity of individuals participating in its Social Security Experience Panels, and, if so, when this data will be publ…

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: In May 2018 Experience Panel members were invited to participate in a survey to update their details and to provide information relating to their protected characteristics. This included a question asking them their ethnicity. The survey and each individual q…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-11056 by Jeane Freeman on 18 September 2018, whether race equality has featured as a discussion in its Social Security Experience Panels, and, if not, whether this topic will be addressed.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: Social Security Experience Panel research has focussed on understanding panel members experience of the current benefits system, and working with them to understand how we can improve the new system in Scotland. The research is structured to allow panel membe…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made in developing the Social Security Charter, and what involvement minority ethnic groups and race equality organisations have had in this process.

Answer · Shirley-Anne Somerville: A core of group of 30 people with lived experience of social security, carefully balanced to reflect a broad range of experiences, has been recruited and will oversee the charter’s development. To date it has met on three occasions with sessions focussed on t…

7 Aug 2018 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work is being done to ensure that disaggregation by ethnic group is possible in the measurement of the reduction of child poverty targets set by the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017.

Answer · Aileen Campbell: Disaggregation of poverty statistics by ethnic group is already available in our annual ‘Poverty & Income inequality in Scotland’ publication and associated tables, and these statistics will continue to be published. Ethnic minority families have been identi…