Carer Benefits Advisory Group minutes: April 2024

Attendees and apologies

Present

• Angela Toal, Child Poverty Action Group

• Anne Baldock, One Parent Families Scotland
• Beth Friel, Carers Trust
• Christopher Walsh, David McLavin, Social Security Scotland Communications
• David Anderson, Oonagh Fraser, Social Security Analysis, Forecasting and Evaluation Unit, Scottish Government (SG)
• Fiona Collie, Carers Scotland
• Peter Stapleton, Scottish Government Carers Policy

• Rethenwyn Grethenan, Scottish Government User Research
• Alice Crawford, Andrew Fry, Dawn Kane, Jane Sterry, Kate Thomson-McDermott, Lynn Shaw, Sarah Wotton, Victoria Boal, Scottish Government Carer Benefits Policy

Apologies

• Jill Wood, Engender
• John Cunningham, COSLA

• Michelle Gallacher, Social Security Scotland Communications

• Paul Traynor, Carers Trust

Items and actions

Minutes and actions from previous meeting

Members were welcomed to the group and apologies were noted. Minutes from the previous meeting in February were also agreed upon with no changes.
Updates were given on the actions from the previous meeting:

• Social Security Scotland: SG officials advised Social Security Scotland have provided assurance that staffing levels meet the forecasted requirements for Carer Support Payment roll out and are being kept under review. It was agreed a representative from Social Security Scotland would be asked to attend the next meeting to provide an update on the rollout and for members to raise any additional questions on the identity and verification process
• Minimum Income Guarantee: SG officials passed on thanks from the MIG Secretariat for evidence on costs of caring shared to date and reminded members to continue to share any relevant evidence
• care centre managers: it was acknowledged that carer centre managers were currently under immense pressure; and agreed the group would look to engage and consult with a representative for care centre managers , seeking specific input where relevant, rather than asking them to regularly attend meetings. Beth Friel from Carers Trust advised that they will contact Paul Traynor to discuss further as he has a pre-established network.

Updates

There were no questions regarding the updates paper. SG officials spoke to the additional paper on Carer’s Allowance overpayment, given it was sent out so close to the meeting.

In response, members highlighted they were aware of cases were carers earnings have not been calculated correctly and being told, incorrectly by the DWP, that they have been overpaid Carer’s Allowance. A specific example was incorrect calculation of pensions deductions, highlighting that carers need good advice readily available to ensure that they can be comfortable in challenging overpayment decisions. SG officials have requested that members refer any such cases to them to explore further.

Members queried whether anyone in Scotland had been prosecuted for Carer’s Allowance overpayments. Officials advised that they did not currently have the data on this; as the DWP is unable to provide data on national breakdowns. 

Carer Support Payment – roll out and communications approach

SG policy officials updated that:

• draft regulations are due to be laid at the end of April to expand the current pilot areas from the end of June, with full rollout across Scotland November, including backdating so that no one in later areas misses out
• the Scottish Commission for Social Security report on the draft regulations welcomed the aims of the draft regulations, whilst emphasising that there will be a need for focussed communications throughout the roll out
• the next statistics release for Carer Support Payment is due in May 2024.

SG and Social Security Scotland officials talked in more detail about work on communicating the roll out, including:

• working with stakeholders regarding improvements to communications materials and roadshows for each stage of the pilot and for case transfer 
• Social Security Scotland’s plans to engage with stakeholders and utilise their expertise and links to circulate the information to as many carers as possible.
• considering research showing that young carers get information through carer support organisations
• monitoring feedback and continuing to test communications and content with User Research colleagues, to maximise ability to reach hard to reach groups
• delivering bespoke roadshows on the roll out of Carer Support Payment as well as on complex topics such as backdating and education rules – with the latter being done in collaboration with educational institutions.

Policy are also working with Social Security Scotland to support backdating, by:

• updating guidance and training for agency staff
• updating pre-application information to cover the new rules
• working with the DWP to ensure that carers get the reserved support that they are entitled to

One member suggested that a table be put in place to better illustrate the backdating rules. There were also concerns raised that the backdating rules could cause overpayments in other benefits, which could then be recovered by the DWP for years and cause additional stress. Officials confirmed they were continuing to work with the DWP to make sure communications and processes were as robust as possible to minimise risks of overpayment, including through abatement processes for legacy benefits.

Priority Improvements 

Officials acknowledged that due to the meeting overrunning, this session would be shorter for the sake of time.

A sub-group to focus on the Carer Support Payment Priority Improvements was proposed. This group would provide input throughout the development of the policies, particularly around trigger points. It was agreed that slides would be circulated amongst members with written feedback and volunteers for the sub group welcome. 

An update on user research to support the priority improvements was also provided:

• one of the key aspects of the User Research is to ensure that no carer falls through the gaps, particularly those who fall into the ‘seldom heard’ groups
• officials are currently seeking the views of carers on their expectations, as well as how they would prefer any changes to be communicated
• the research will be conducted through interviews, surveys, desk research, etc.
• user researchers are keen to engage with carers eligible for CAPP; carers who are part of the ‘seldom heard’ group; 3rd sector carer organisations and Social Security Scotland staff.

Carer Benefits – evaluation

SG officials from the Social Security Analysis, Forecasting and Evaluation team provided a presentation on the proposals for carer benefits evaluation, highlighting:

• the current evaluation approach was set out in 2019 in the devolved benefits evaluation strategy. It involves creating a theory of change for each benefit, with process and policy outcomes illustrated in a logic model
• analysts are keen to ensure that a wide range of carers are represented. A mixed-methods approach of both quantitative and qualitative data will be utilised. These include using client and carer surveys, official statistics and management information, as well as interviews with clients, staff and stakeholders
• the Carers Programme is currently in its scoping phase – identifying key outcomes and seeking comments/input to the evaluation plan.  The current draft objectives of the evaluation were set out in the presentation, along with  the broad timeline of the next two years.

SG analysts welcomed feedback on the proposals set out in the presentation, and offered to come back at future meetings to keep members updated.

Any other business and close

The opportunity to chair the next meeting in August was also raised, with members able to contact the secretariat if they are interested.

There was no other business raised and the meeting was concluded with thanks to all that attended for their time and input.

Actions

• Carers Trust to explore whether they can identify a carer centre manager to work with the group
• members to flag to SG policy officials, where appropriate, any carers with Carer’s Allowance overpayments, where they feel there has been an error in earnings calculations
• SG policy and Social Security Scotland to consider adding backdating table to content, guidance and communications material to help carers understand the backdating rules being introduced through the draft regulations
• group Secretary to share Priority Improvements slides for members comments, and facilitate a sub-group on Priority Improvements
• group Secretary to share slides from the evaluation presentation and members to provide any feedback.