Minimum Income Guarantee: Experts by Experience Panel report

Panel five: ensuring fairness for marginalised groups

The panel aimed to:

• Focus on the particular needs of two specific groups: lone parents and disabled people. Including practical and fair implementation strategies for the Minimum Income Guarantee, encompassing aspects such as payment methods, assessment procedures, and access.
• Consider whether non-means tested payments accessed by these groups such as child benefit and personal independence payments should be considered as income when setting the Minimum Income Guarantee level.

Members heard from:

• Tressa Burke, Chief Executive of the Glasgow Disability Alliance and member of the Expert Group, provided insights on the causes and nature of disabled people's poverty and shared interrelated barriers to work experienced by disabled people. In addition, she touched on how a Minimum Income Guarantee could work for disabled people.
• Satwat Rehman, Chief Executive of One Parent Families Scotland and member of the Expert Group, who provided some background on lone parent families and work in Scotland. She shared the issues that should be considered for lone parent families in relation to a Minimum Income Guarantee. She underlined the disadvantages and discrimination that single parents have historically faced to emphasise why it is important to consider these issues.

Members largely agreed that non-means tested benefits should not be considered as income when calculating the Minimum Income Guarantee level. Discussions highlighted the need to accurately identify what constitutes a dignified quality of life, acknowledging that different individuals may have varying needs to meet a dignified quality of life and therefore require different levels of income. The importance of excluding free services from Minimum Income Guarantee calculations was also discussed, as availability does not guarantee utilisation. However, the inclusion of income from properties was suggested to be factored into the Minimum Income Guarantee calculations.

The frequency and method of Minimum Income Guarantee assessments were key topics. Members noted that the frequency should be adaptable, based on individual circumstances, such as health conditions, with a preference for assessments to occur when there is a change in circumstances. The idea of involving people with lived experiences and potentially community panels in the assessment process was also discussed to ensure empathy and relevance in the assessment process.

Finally, panel members expressed varied opinions on the payment frequency of a Minimum Income Guarantee, suggesting that it should be flexible to accommodate individual financial management needs, with options for weekly, fortnightly, or monthly payments. While the Minimum Income Guarantee should primarily be paid to the person who claims it, considerations for payments to guardians were acknowledged for cases involving capacity issues. Discussions also touched on the method of payment, suggesting the need for options between bank transfers and cash to suit different preferences.