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

Scottish Firms Impact Test

Scottish businesses, including the third sector, responded to the ‘A New Future for Social Security’ consultation in mid-2016. Responses were received from 14 private businesses and 5 business organisations all of which requested that their responses remain anonymous.

Stakeholder events were run in tandem with the Consultation on Disability Assistance between 5 March and 28 May 2019 to obtain as wide a view as possible on the forthcoming delivery of disability benefits in Scotland. Views were received from many different types of interested stakeholder organisations, such as Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, Citizens Advice Scotland, the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH), Engender, CEMVO Scotland, Rights Advice Scotland, LEAD Scotland, MND Scotland, National Deaf Children's Society, Royal Blind and Scottish War Blinded, the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers, Down’s Syndrome Scotland, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Scotland, One Parent Families Scotland, Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), The Poverty Alliance, Epilepsy Scotland and Glasgow Disability Alliance.

Following the Consultation on Disability Assistance, the Scottish Government also engaged with stakeholders specifically on Pension Age Disability Payment. This involved engagement with the IHDBSRG in November 2022, seeking advice from DACBEAG and responding to their recommendations in March 2023, as well as holding stakeholder engagement sessions, such as for the development of the Equality Impact Assessment. Stakeholder organisations involved in our engagement sessions included: MND Scotland, Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland, Scottish Pensioner’s Forum, Scottish Women’s Convention, Christians Against Poverty, BLESMA and Sight Scotland.

It is expected that the introduction of these regulations could cause additional requests for information and support from existing advice and advocacy services. As a new benefit, this may result in additional pressure on advice agencies as they become familiar with it. The Scottish Government will continue to engage with the advice services sector as the programme to implement social security provision in Scotland progresses.

The Scottish Government does not believe that the introduction of Pension Age Disability Payment will have an adverse impact on the competitiveness of Scottish companies or the third sector within Scotland, the United Kingdom or internationally, including Europe and the rest of the world. Additionally, the Scottish Government does not expect there to be any significant impact on the operational business of local authorities or health boards as a result of introducing Pension Age Disability Payment.

There may be some impact on public sector agencies and third sector organisations operating in Scotland in relation to the way that Social Security Scotland delivers Scottish Government benefits compared to the status quo. These changes are unlikely to place significant demands on third sector organisations providing advice and support for people receiving or enquiring about social security payments and should not require a significant change to their operations.

The 2018 Act sets out a duty on Scottish Ministers to promote the take-up of Scottish Government benefits. As Pension Age Disability Payment helps with the extra costs relating to an individual’s care needs, an increase in benefit uptake is likely to have a positive impact on Scottish businesses and the economy. This is because individuals may use their payments to purchase a range of goods and services.