The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendment and Transitional Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2022: equality impact assessment

Recommendations and Conclusion

The EqIA process has identified that the Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendment and Transitional Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 have potential to have positive impacts for those who share protected characteristics.

We understand groups who share protected characteristics may face difficulties in accessing or understanding their entitlements due to language or other communication barriers. We will ensure information and advice on the changes is as accessible as possible and reaches the full range of people who could benefit from this support, through services used by parents and carers, and in a range of formats.

We will ensure there is clear guidance for both decision makers and applications, and for effective promotion to maximise uptake. Awareness raising of the changes will also be required among partner agencies and advice and advocacy services to ensure that appropriate signposting is provided, and that applicants can access the necessary information and be suitably supported throughout the process.

Monitoring and Review

The Scottish Commission on Social Security (SCoSS) is an advisory non-departmental public body set up to provide independent scrutiny of the Scottish social security system (including benefit regulations) and hold Scottish Ministers to account. They have provided independent scrutiny of these regulations.^[57] In their report SCoSS highlighted that the regulations would need to clearly provide Social Security Scotland with the discretion to defer or waive making an auto award of BSG Early Learning Payment or School Age Payment to ensure that the payment is made to the right person when families are in crisis or transition, for example, through domestic abuse or moving in and out of kinship care.

We have ensured that our regulations make clear that where an individual has indicated they do not want to receive payment via an auto award, an auto award will not be made. Furthermore, where an individual is no longer actually responsible for the child but continues to be in receipt of Scottish Child Payment due to receiving a reserved, qualifying benefit and they then receive an auto-award of Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment or School Age Payment, the person who is actually responsible for the child will still be able to apply and receive Best Start Grant due to the ability for a second payment to be made in certain circumstances where responsibility for the child has changed.

SCoSS also raised a concern that the rule to allow a higher Pregnancy and Baby Payment to be awarded where someone arrives in the UK with a child having been granted refugee status, humanitarian protection, or leave under the Afghanistan resettlement schemes or the Ukraine resettlement schemes would not only apply when an older child was born outside the UK or came to the UK with the refugee claimant, it would also apply when an older child was born in the UK e.g. to a new partner.

SCoSS are correct that this rule could apply to a child who was born in the UK, provided that the child was born in the UK to an individual who was living in the UK, who then later left the UK and returned to the UK seeking refugee status. This is because the child was born before the individual arrived in the UK as a refugee, i.e., before the individual claims BSG in respect of another child. This is within the policy intent as regardless of where the older child was born, the individual has arrived in the UK as a refugee and is therefore not likely to have retained the items that the BSG Pregnancy and Baby Payment is intended to provide.

A refugee will not normally be entitled to be given the higher payment on multiple occasions. To be eligible for the higher payment, all individuals under 16 who are not the child the application relates to must be able to be disregarded because they fall within one of the categories specified in our regulations. An older sibling who was born in the UK after the refugee came to this country in most circumstances would not be disregarded under this rule.

SCoSS also highlighted that the definition of domestic abuse within our regulations needed to be widened to include abuse by an individual's ex-partner, in line with the definition used within the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021. We have consulted further with stakeholders regarding this matter and have widened our definition to include abuse by the ex-partner.

SCoSS also recommended that the Scottish Government's review of Scottish Child Payment must take into account the lived experience of people, and any disproportionate impact there may be on particular groups such as lone parents or disabled people, in relation to how they understand and manage the loss of income from Scottish Child Payment when entitlement ends as they move into work or increase hours or earnings and thus lose entitlement to Universal Credit. The Scottish Government is currently undertaking a formal public consultation on proposed changes to the Scottish social security system and, amongst other topics, seeks views on the advantages and disadvantages around making changes to the legislative basis for Scottish Child Payment. That consultation is open to everyone. Alternative formats, events and surveys are being developed to facilitate participation from the widest possible range of people, including from people with lived experience of the social security system.

SCoSS also asked that in its review of Scottish Child Payment, the Scottish Government should look for ways to make eligibility rules fairer by offering the same amount of support to all families whose child dies. In the sad event that a child to whom a claim of Scottish Child Payment relates dies we are providing payment equivalent to the value of payments made in the 12 weeks prior to the child's death. This approach was considered the fairest way we can support families in this situation through SCP using the powers available to us.

SCP is paid as a top-up of reserved benefits using the powers available to us under section 79(1) of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 which means we are only able to make a payment for a period where there is a qualifying benefit in payment. We will consider this again at any review of the Scottish Child Payment legislative footing.

We intend to commission a further evaluation report on BSG to report in 2025 as, although BSG is fully rolled-out, its impacts can only be fully assessed after at least 5 years from the roll-out by which time eligible families will have had a chance to receive multiple payments for the same child. We will also conduct a full evaluation of Scottish Child Payment after the rollout of the payment for children aged under 16.

We will continue to engage with members of the Five Family Payments Reference Group to monitor their impact. Social Security Scotland also carry out regular surveys to understand the experience of clients who have applied for the FFP.

The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018^[58] places a duty on the Scottish Ministers to report annually to the Scottish Parliament on the performance of the Scottish Social Security System during the previous financial year, including in relation to protected characteristics. The report is to describe what the Scottish Ministers have done in that year to meet the expectations on them set out in the Charter.

We have established a stakeholder take-up reference group. This group is a partnership of Scottish Government officials and organisations representing third-sector and local authority interests who have knowledge of issues surrounding benefit take-up. It is designed so that members will bring their experience, expertise, and extensive networks to bear, ensuring that our approach draws on the experience of, and best supports, third sector and local authority partners.

Since the publication of the first Benefit Take Up Strategy, the Group has met twelve times and collaborated on a number of key activities with the goal of increasing take-up of Scottish Benefits. In late 2019 and early 2020 the Group played a central role in shaping the Benefit Take-up and Income Maximisation Funds to ensure that this funding was targeted to enable the maximum benefit to individuals and highest quality in learning.

We have also committed to reviewing the FFP during the course of the current Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan (2022-2026)^[59] and continue to work closely with stakeholders to ensure that support is targeted on those families that need it most.

Authorisation

I confirm that the impact of the Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendment and Transitional Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 has been sufficiently assessed against the needs of the equality duty:

Ian Davidson, Deputy Director, Social Security Policy Division

Date this version was authorised: 31/08/2022