Scottish Child Payment: Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment

Consultation

Within Government

The SCP policy has been developed collaboratively between the Social Security Directorate and the Directorate for Housing and Social Justice, who have primary responsibility for the implementation of the TCPDP. This means the policy has benefitted from the combination of experience delivering social security benefits and poverty expertise. Internal stakeholders have included: economists, social researchers, child poverty and social justice policy officials, alongside user researchers and service design officials. There has also been wider consultation across the Scottish Government including: Digital; Local Government and Communities; Director General Economy; Director General Health & Social Care; Director General Learning and Justice; and Director General Finance.

The Social Security Programme (sitting within the Social Security Directorate) has governance arrangements in place which have supported the decision making requirements for the SCP, ensuring sound decision making, monitoring and control. The Social Security Programme is delivery-focussed, tasked with establishing Social Security Scotland and the safe and secure transition of the devolved benefits. The Programme Board that oversees the delivery of the Social Security Programme includes representation from a range of senior officials across the Scottish Government, the Department for Work and Pensions, and non-executive Directors who provide insight and critical challenges.

External Stakeholders

We have sought to understand the impact of the SCP through speaking to over 300 people with lived experience of the social security system across Scotland, including charity workers, kinship carers and groups across the protected characteristics. As part of this process we have also spoken to welfare officers who have an acute understanding of the lived experience with which parents and others may present to them. The work has been undertaken to better understand the issues which face individuals and communities, helping shape the design of the payment according to specific needs. We have issued a survey to Experience Panel members seeking views on the design of the SCP and engaged with individual members to test the prototype and paper forms.

Third sector and public organisations have been strongly supportive of the SCP and have worked with the Scottish Government throughout its development. This has included workshops with anti-poverty organisations, think tanks, academia and local authorities to develop the policy and delivery model for the SCP. Private business have not been consulted directly as it is not expected that the policy will have an impact on their interests.