Draft Disability Assistance for Older People (Scotland) Regulations 2024: Draft Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

Options

Option 1: Take no action

The Smith Commission set out that powers over Attendance Allowance in Scotland should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. This transfer of power was legislated for through the Scotland Act 2016. The Scottish Parliament has also passed the 2018 Act which enables Scottish Ministers to introduce regulations to provide Pension Age Disability Payment, a form of disability assistance for those over State Pension age. Attendance Allowance is currently delivered in Scotland by the Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of the Scottish Government by way of an Agency Agreement.

Consequently, taking no action and therefore not taking over administrative responsibility from the Department for Work and Pensions is not considered to be a viable option. There are not considered to be any benefits of this option.

If the Department for Work and Pensions were to stop providing Attendance Allowance to people in Scotland, and the Scottish Government had not made provision for a replacement benefit, a significant number of people with an entitlement to Attendance Allowance would be worse off as they would no longer be receiving financial support.

Option 2: Introduce a Scottish Government replica of Attendance Allowance, including how it is delivered

The Scottish Government could have decided to replicate Attendance Allowance in its entirety, by making no changes to eligibility rules, the application process or the decision-making process. However, this would have been inconsistent with the Scottish social security principles, as set out in the 2018 Act.

By taking this policy approach, the Scottish Government would have continued the delivery of a benefit that has not been designed with the people in Scotland who will use it. This approach would not be utilising the opportunity to seek continuous improvement through putting the needs of those who require assistance first, while advancing equality and non-discrimination.

This approach would fail to utilise the opportunity to improve on the current administration of Attendance Allowance, allowing unsuitable aspects to be delivered by the Scottish Government without reconsideration. For example, in the 2016 consultation, it was noted that some respondents, mainly individuals and local authority respondents, commented that the application process for Attendance Allowance was too complex and that the forms were too long, inaccessible for some, and daunting to complete.^[13] Similar findings have also been highlighted through user research undertaken by the Scottish Government in 2018 and 2023. This included those who have experience of the current social security system, including members of the Social Security Experience Panels, third sector organisations as well as family and friends that assisted individuals with the Attendance Allowance application process.

This approach would be inconsistent with Scottish Ministers’ delivery of Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment, whereby individuals benefit from improvements, such as an improved application process, the new Scottish Government definition of terminal illness and access to support through Short-term Assistance where eligible.

Option 3: Introduce Pension Age Disability Payment (recommended option)

The Scottish Government will introduce Pension Age Disability Payment as a form of disability assistance under the 2018 Act for people over State Pension age, with a number of practical and administrative improvements that will provide disabled people with a different experience when accessing the support that they are entitled to. The Scottish Government plans to introduce Pension Age Disability Payment with a pilot and phased approach in Autumn 2024 and national launch in early 2025.

Individuals with an award of Attendance Allowance will have their award transferred to Pension Age Disability Payment, administered by Social Security Scotland, under the safe and secure principles set out by Scottish Ministers.

Although there will not be fundamental changes to the existing Attendance Allowance eligibility criteria when delivering Pension Age Disability Payment, individuals will be able to make use of a number of improvements. These range from a choice of inclusive application channels, local delivery support, improved Special Rules for Terminal Illness provision and access to Short-term Assistance. 63% of respondents to the 2019 consultation agreed with the proposals for the eligibility criteria of Pension Age Disability Payment.^[14]