Employment Injury Assistance delivery - next steps: response to consultation

Advice and Eligibility

Respondent Feedback

As outlined above, the Scottish Government has committed to establishing a stakeholder advisory group to input into the next phase of policy development for Employment Injury Assistance.

Many responses called for groups of workers to be represented on this group, specifically women, ethnic minorities, trade unions and those with lived experience of Long Covid and asbestos-related diseases. Views about the timelines for establishing this group were mixed, with some calling for it to be established sooner while others found the proposed timelines ambitious.

Similarly, many organisations raised the issue of the UK Industrial Injuries Advisory Council and a potential replacement statutory advisory body in Scotland. Several respondents felt there was a need for a new Scottish advisory council and there were calls for this body to have research powers and to be sufficiently resourced. It was strongly suggested by several people that this group should also seek the input of people with experience of receiving an IIS benefit.

Many organisations considered the eligibility criteria, specifically the prescribed list of occupational diseases, to be out of date. A range of reasons and some examples were provided of why it does not reflect the modern workforce. This included specific conditions, groups of people and types of employment that are not covered at present by the UK scheme such as long Covid for healthcare workers.

Scottish Government Response

We have listened to responses to this consultation and other engagement exercises and have taken these into account when establishing the new Employment Injury Assistance Steering Group. The group’s membership will include disabled people’s organisations, welfare advisory groups and occupational health experts. The membership and remit of this group, along with meeting minutes, will be available on the Scottish Government website after its first meeting.

Formal consultation on the design and implementation of a fully reformed and modernised Employment Injury Assistance will be undertaken in due course, including consideration around a potential replacement for the UK Government's Industrial Injuries Advisory Council.

We know that there are a number of conditions that stakeholders want the Scottish Government to recognise as industrial injuries or diseases. Any changes need to be considered within the current challenging financial context and must be affordable and offer value for money. As set out above, this consultation is the first step of a wider policy development and consultation process.