Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Transitional Provisions and Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2022: children's rights and wellbeing impact assessment

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

32. The policy intent has been assessed against the relevant UNCRC articles:

Article 3 - Best Interests of the Child: Social Security Scotland has been developed around the principles of dignity, fairness and respect, transparent decision making, a person centred approach and rooted in the belief that social security is a human right. Adult Disability Payment will have these principles embedded both in the policy and in the way in which the assistance is delivered. This will help to ensure that all decisions made by Social Security Scotland are made with consideration of the best interests of the young person, both when they are the recipient and where the recipient is a family member of the young person.

Article 6 - Life, Survival and Development: Adult Disability Payment is intended to mitigate the additional costs disabled people, incur in meeting their care and mobility needs. Mitigation of these additional costs is anticipated to provide people with funding to access community resources, education and social activities, develop skills and new experiences and to have a good quality of life. Once people are in receipt of Adult Disability Payment they have the security of the continuity that comes with a form of assistance available, as long as they remain eligible, for the rest of their adult lives. This will in turn have positive impacts on any child or young person, living in a household and/or being cared for by an individual with an award of Working Age Disability Living Allowance.

Article 12 - Respect for the views of the child: Adult Disability Payment and the case transfer principles have been developed through consultation with and input from people with lived experience of the current social security system, including young people, their families and carers through our Social Security Experience Panels. These policies will impact the lives of disabled people including young people and their contribution is crucial in shaping a successful policy.

Article 23 - Children with a Disability: Adult Disability Payment will ensure that individuals who receive it are more likely to be able to live a full life, to be as independent as possible and to be able to engage in the community. This will in turn have positive impacts on any child or young person with a disability, living in a household and/or being cared for by an individual with an award of Working Age Disability Living Allowance.

Article 26 - Social Security: We have engaged with individuals and stakeholders to make changes that improve both the rules and the individual experience of applying for, and receiving, Adult Disability Payment. These changes will ensure that throughout their engagement with Social Security Scotland individuals are treated with dignity, fairness and respect. Our case transfer process does not require a new application and provides for a two stage process to transfer an individual's award at their current rates ahead of carrying out a review of the individual's entitlement in order to support individuals through the review process, ensuring take-up of Adult Disability Payment.

Article 27 - Adequate Standard of Living: The key policy intent of Adult Disability Payment is to provide individuals with payments to help mitigate the costs they incur as a result of a disability or long term condition. The case transfer process has been designed to ensure no one with a Working Age Disability Payment, and by extension their household and/or people they care for, are financially disadvantaged as a result of the process and that payment frequencies are maintained. In addition, the two stage process also helps ensure that individuals can access Short Term Assistance where they see a reduction in award or nil award as a result of the review determination and seeks a re-determination, or as a result of the re-determination of the transfer determination and seek to appeal.