Delivery of devolved social security benefits: stakeholder toolkit

Spreading The Word About The Devolved Social Security Benefits

Intranet Article

You can add this article, for your staff, onto your organisation's intranet about the Scottish Government's social security plans.

The Scottish Government is establishing a new social security system. This system will be administered by Social Security Scotland.

Once fully operational, it will deliver benefits to 1.4 million people and provide £3.5 billion in payments every year.

The benefits (shown in the table below) will include a number of payments previously offered through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), including Disability Assistance, as well as brand new benefits such as a Young Carer's Grant.

The Scottish Government will gradually introduce the benefits that it is creating, including the ones that will replace the DWP benefits in Scotland.

On Thursday 28 February, the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People updated the Scottish Parliament on the high level delivery timetable for benefits.

Department for Work and Pensions benefit	Our replacement benefit	Date available
Not applicable – new benefit	Carer's Allowance Supplement	Available now
Sure Start Maternity Grant	Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment	Available now
Not applicable – new benefit	Best Start Grant Early Years Payment	Available now
Not applicable – new benefit	Best Start Grant School Age Payment	3 June 2019
Funeral Expenses Payment	Funeral Expense Assistance	Summer 2019
Not applicable – new benefit	Young Carer Grant	Autumn 2019
Not applicable – new benefit	Job Grant	Subject to consultation outcomes
Disability Living Allowance (child)	Disability Assistance for Children and Young people	Summer 2020
Attendance Allowance	Disability Assistance for Older People	Winter 2020
Personal Independence Payments	Disability Assistance for Working Age People	Early 2021
Carer's Allowance	Carer's Assistance	Winter 2021
Winter Fuel Payment	Winter Heating Assistance	Winter 2021
Cold Weather Payment	Cold Spell - Heating Assistance	Winter 2021

The people that we support and work with may have an interest in what this means for them. The Scottish Government has created a question and answer document that they will continue to add to. This can be found at www.gov.scot/policies/social-security

The Scottish Government is currently running a consultation on Disability Assistance in Scotland to get views on what this assistance will look like and how it will be delivered in Scotland. It closes on 28 May 2019. Read more about it here: https://consult.gov.scot/social-security/improving-disability-assistance/

Optional text for your organisation

We will be/have submitted a response. If you would like to input to this/further information, please contact [enter name] .

We would encourage you to use your valuable experience to provide views to the Scottish Government on how Disability Assistance should look like.

To enable the Scottish Government to meet its timetable for delivery, work is already underway to build the systems required to deliver all future benefits. However, it will continue to refine the service as further detail becomes available around Disability Assistance and what people want from this new public service.

Spreading The Word About The Devolved Social Security Benefits

Website Newsletter/Article

You can add this news story to your organisation's website or newsletter to inform your clients about the Scottish Government's plans.

The benefits system in Scotland is changing. A number of benefits are being devolved to the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government has created a new public service, Social Security Scotland, to administer benefits.

Once fully operational, it will deliver benefits to 1.4 million people and provide £3.5 billion in payments every year.

These benefits will include a number of payments previously offered through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), including Disability Assistance, as well as brand new benefits such as a Young Carer's Grant.

The Scottish Government will gradually introduce the benefits that they are creating, including the ones that will replace DWP benefits in Scotland. They will initially open for new applicants, where you are required to apply for a benefit, and over time they will work with the DWP to transfer people to the new Scottish system.

Over half a million cases will transfer. With the DWP's co-operation, the Scottish Government expects the majority of people to be transferred to its new system by 2023, and all cases fully transferred in 2024.

On Thursday 28 February, the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People updated the Scottish Parliament on the high level delivery timetable for benefits.

If you are currently receive benefits from the DWP you do not need to do anything right now.

The Scottish Government is working with the DWP to make sure that they keep people up to date when more detail becomes available.

If you do have questions, the Scottish Government has created a question and answer document that may provide the information you are looking for. This can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/social-security-questions-and-answers/

Something that you can do now is give the Scottish Government your views on what you would like Disability Assistance in Scotland to look like. The Scottish Government is currently running a consultation on Disability Assistance in Scotland to get thoughts and ideas on what this assistance will look and how it can be delivered in Scotland. It closes on 28 May 2019. Read more about it here: https://consult.gov.scot/social-security/improving-disability-assistance/

Department for Work and Pensions benefit	Our replacement benefit	Date available
Not applicable – new benefit	Carer's Allowance Supplement	Available now
Sure Start Maternity Grant	Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment	Available now
Not applicable – new benefit	Best Start Grant Early Years Payment	Available now
Not applicable – new benefit	Best Start Grant School Age Payment	3 June 2019
Funeral Expenses Payment	Funeral Expense Assistance	Summer 2019
Not applicable	Young Carer Grant	Autumn 2019
Not applicable – new benefit	Job Grant	Subject to consultation outcomes
Disability Living Allowance (child)	Disability Assistance for Children and Young people	Summer 2020
Attendance Allowance	Disability Assistance for Older People	Winter 2020
Personal Independence Payments	Disability Assistance for Working Age People	Early 2021
Carer's Allowance	Carer's Assistance	Winter 2021
Winter Fuel Payment	Winter Heating Assistance	Winter 2021
Cold Weather Payment	Cold Spell - Heating Assistance	Winter 2021

Spreading The Word About The Devolved Social Security Benefits

Blogs

If you have a blog channel and would welcome guest blogs, please find below content that can be attributed to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People, Shirley-Anne Somerville. Please also feel free to use any quotes from this blog in any news pieces that you wish to produce.

Devolved benefits: Fairer Scotland

On Thursday 28 February, I updated Parliament on our delivery of the devolved social security benefits. Firstly, I wanted to reflect on the progress we've made so far and the real, lasting impact on people's lives.

It makes me immensely proud to see how the payments we've made to date are helping so many. Since Social Security Scotland opened its doors in 2018, it has already paid out over £33 million in Carer's Allowance Supplement to more than 77,000 carers, and £2.7 million through the Best Start Grant to more than 7,000 families in Scotland. That's more in the first two months of operation than the DWP benefit it replaced paid out in a year.

And that's just the beginning. This year, we'll continue to support even more people with further benefits: the next two phases of Best Start Grant, Funeral Expense Assistance and the Young Carer Grant. We'll also continue our work developing a brand new Job Grant for young people.

A benefits system with people at its heart

From 1 April next year, responsibility for all devolved benefits, including their funding, will sit with the Scottish Government.

Beginning from next year, around half a million cases – the equivalent of around 10% of people in Scotland – will transfer from the Department for Work and Pensions to Social Security Scotland.

Within a programme which is already the largest transfer of powers since devolution, these forms of assistance are incredibly complex.

I would, therefore, like to offer my sincere thanks to the Disability and Carers Benefits Expert Advisory Group (DACBEAG), the Ill Health and Disability Benefits Stakeholder Reference Group and those individuals who have shared their experiences of navigating the disability benefits system through our Experience Panels.

I want to ensure that there is real trust placed in our social security system in Scotland. To gain this trust we must uphold our values of treating people with dignity, fairness and respect.

We will continue to listen to people and gather views to inform our thinking and check that what we are proposing is right before we progress to developing regulations.

For example, on 5 March we launched a consultation on Disability Assistance. The responses will influence our approach and help to ensure that the system we are creating reflects the needs and views of the people who will be supported.

Building a better Disability Assistance benefit

We will begin to take new claims for Disability Assistance for Children and Young People in summer next year, and claims for older people's disability payments will be taken by the end of 2020. New claims for Disability Assistance for Working Age People - the Scottish replacement for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - will start early in 2021.

In response to criticisms of the current system, there will be a redesigned application process and fewer face to face assessments.

Home assessments will be available for those who need them and carried out by qualified assessors. Assessments will be audio-recorded as standard.

There will be rolling awards with no set end points, and those with fluctuating health conditions will not face additional reviews due to regular changes in needs related to their condition. We will also move the burden of collecting information from the client to Social Security Scotland.

More support for carers

Carer's Assistance is a benefit which we have to take the time to get right. It affects income tax, meaning that we will need new data sharing arrangements with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to administer it effectively.

It's also a gateway to other benefits which are in the gift of the UK Government, such as the "carer premium", worth around £36 a week on top of someone's means-tested benefit.

The last thing I want to do is jeopardise these additional payments by rushing delivery of Carer's Assistance before the necessary agreements with the UK Government are in place. Nor do I want to encourage the growth of a two-tier system between new and existing claims. By introducing new claims in 2021 we can ensure we protect payments for carers who rely on them.

It will also allow us to focus on getting all three forms of Disability Assistance right to support the people cared for by our carers. We are working to a timetable that reflects the importance of moving quickly, but not putting people's payments at risk.

Getting it right for Scotland

We have repeatedly heard about the stress and anxiety caused by the current UK Government system. We will ensure that the Scottish social security system is different. We will create a fair, transparent system which respects the needs of individuals and works for people, not against them.

We've come a long way in a short time. I do not underestimate the complexity nor the importance of the work still to be done. But the prize of getting it right is a great one - a social security system with dignity, fairness and respect at its heart which works for the people of Scotland.

Social Media

Spreading The Word About The Devolved Social Security Benefits

Here is some social media for you to use.

Tweet 1.
The Scottish Government has set out its ambitious timetable for the delivery of replacement benefits that will be introduced using its new Social Security powers.

Tweet 2.
The Scottish Government is keen to gather the views of people with a working knowledge of and experience of applying for disability benefits. Have your say before 28 May 2019. www.consult.gov.scot/social-security/improving-disability-assistance/

Tweet 3.

Got a question about the new social security system in Scotland and what this could mean for you? Find some common questions and answers available on the Scottish Government website - www.gov.scot/publications/social-security-questions-and-answers/

Tweet 4.
The Scottish Government has created a series of documents with updates on the disability assistance they will introduce - www.gov.scot/publications/social-security-policy-position-papers/

Tweet 5.
You will be able to communicate with Social Security Scotland in the way that is best for you.

Tweet 6.
Once fully operational, you will be able to apply for Social Security Scotland benefits online, by phone, post or in person.

Tweet 7.
The Scottish Government will not means test disability assistance and if you are employed this will have no impact on your entitlement.

Tweet 8.
Social Security Scotland will take into consideration how your condition affects you and your circumstances.

Tweet 9.
The Scottish Government is committed to reducing the number of individuals required to attend a face to face assessment.

Tweet 10.
If you do need to have a face to face assessment, you will be able to bring a supporter with you, or have access to independent advocacy if you have a disability that means that you would find it difficult to engage fully in the assessment.

Tweet 11.
In the new Scottish social security system, if a face to face assessment is required, it will be audio recorded as standard and individuals will routinely be provided with a copy of the report written by the assessor without having to request it.

Tweet 12.
The Scottish Government social security system will make awards that are person-centred. Awards will be made on a rolling basis, which means that awards will not be stopped when a review is underway.

Tweet 13.
The Scottish Government will improve provision for people with a terminal illness. There will be no requirement to undergo further assessment, awards will be calculated from the date of application and entitlement to the highest rate of assistance that a person is eligible for.