The Welfare Foods (Best Start Foods) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023: equality impact assessment

The Scope of the EqIA

This EqIA considers the impact of the Welfare Foods (Best Start Foods) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023 on people with one or more protected characteristic.

Who was involved in this EqIA

There has been policy engagement with stakeholders throughout the development of BSF and since launch. We have also held a number of meetings with our Five Family Payments Reference Group which is made up of a number of key stakeholders with an interest in the policy area, including Child Poverty Action Group, Citizens Advice Scotland, Engender and a number of other groups. At our meeting in March 2023, we provided the Five Family Payments Reference Group with an overview of our proposed changes and following this we met separately with some of the individual members.

The overall feedback we received was positive. Removal of the income thresholds was welcomed by stakeholders and considered to be particularly helpful for people who do seasonal work, have variable incomes or are on flexible contracts. It was noted that the existing threshold for UC can prevent parents accepting work that is paid at the real Living Wage. A risk was also highlighted that people who currently lose entitlement due to breaching the income thresholds might not reclaim when their income reduces again, resulting in individuals not receiving the support they are entitled to. Providing a further eight weeks entitlement to BSF when entitlement to Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit ends was also viewed positively and considered to be especially helpful when issues arise with qualifying benefits which can take some time to resolve. Changes to improve access to BSF for young parents were also welcomed and it was anticipated that they would help improve uptake. Making Working Tax Credit (WTC) a qualifying benefit in its own right was viewed as particularly positive for some pregnant persons and also for some carers who are not responsible for the child for Child Tax Credit (CTC) purposes, e.g. some kinship carers. In general, further aligning eligibility for BSF with BSG and SCP was also received positively as it was acknowledged that the differences in eligibility can be confusing for some parents.

We consulted with island stakeholders as part of the Islands Community Impact Assessment process and some of the feedback raised by islands stakeholders was relevant to this impact assessment. They noted that BSF helps to address stigma and improve the health and wellbeing of pregnant persons and children. They also felt that BSF could contribute to better educational outcomes. They welcomed the policy changes which will result in BSF being more accessible for low income families. However, they also cautioned that by allowing the individual who a pregnant person is dependent upon to be eligible to receive BSF, the independence of the young person could be adversely affected and it could make them vulnerable to abuse from coercive grandparents. This change will align with the approach already taken for BSG Pregnancy and Baby Payment, where if the individual who is or was pregnant is a dependant, they can choose to apply themselves, or have the individual that they are dependent upon or the partner of that individual apply. We took this approach in response to discussions during the original consultation on BSG^[10] which highlighted both the need to empower young parents and the importance of young pregnant persons and parents having the support of an adult in accessing the payment. To mitigate against the risk described above, the regulations ensure that an application from the pregnant person will always take precedence over applications from other entitled individuals. Where anyone other than the pregnant person is receiving BSF and an application from the pregnant person is received, Social Security Scotland will end the existing claim and pay the pregnant person instead. One stakeholder highlighted that for pregnant persons in domestic abuse situations ensuring that an application from the pregnant person is prioritised over one from any other entitled person will help mitigate situations of financial control.

We have also engaged with the Scottish Women’s Convention, Scottish Women’s Aid, Inclusion Scotland, First Steps Nutrition Trust and Nourish Scotland. Overall, the feedback received was that the changes being made are very positive and progressive. Widening eligibility by removing the income thresholds was particularly welcomed. Changes which will make it easier for eligible families to access BSF were welcomed. Providing a further eight weeks entitlement to BSF when entitlement to Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit ends was specifically highlighted as a good example of how to treat individuals well. Putting it beyond doubt that people who might otherwise have difficulty accessing their entitlement can be paid in a way other than the prepaid card was seen to be very helpful.

We have carried out an evaluation of BSF^[11] which has included externally commissioned qualitative research involving interviews with a number of clients and healthcare professionals on their experiences of the payment to date. This evaluation suggested a number of positive findings. They show the benefit helps people buy a greater quantity (and quality) of healthy foods than they could without the benefit. Payments also support healthier shopping habits and meal planning. For example, recipients report purchasing healthier snacks for their children and some experiment with new healthy recipes, without worrying about wasting money or food. BSF may be contributing to better health and wellbeing for children. Recipients report observing their children eating more and a greater variety of fruits and vegetables and feeling positive that they can provide their children with more nutritious foods. Recipients also experienced reduced levels of stress and anxiety in relation to finances as a result of receiving BSF. It had given participants a sense of relief knowing they could use it to buy healthy foods for their families. For some recipients, it guarantees they can afford essential foods even when their finances are difficult. For others the payments have freed up money for costs such as household bills. They also expressed relief as BSF enabled recipients to be financially independent, whereas they previously had to ask for support from other family members. This was reiterated by healthcare professionals who observed that their recipients were less burdened by financial worries. Healthcare professionals were pleased to see the positive impact BSF was having on the health and wellbeing of families as a preoccupation with finances could impact the relationship they had with their children.