Social Justice
Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is portfolio question time, and the portfolio on this occasion is social justice. I remind members that if they wish to ask a supplementary question, they should, during the relevant question, press their request-to-speak button or enter “RTS” in the chat function.
Adult Disability Payment Applications (Processing Time)
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average processing time is for adult disability payment applications. (S6O-02696)
Adult disability payment statistics are published quarterly. The latest release, covering the period to 31 July 2023, shows that the improvement actions that Social Security Scotland has put in place have reduced the median average processing time for normal rules applications by eight working days. The median average processing time overall, since the benefit was introduced, is 83 working days.
Processing times for cases eligible under the special rules for terminal illness, for some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people, have also been included in that publication for the first time; that shows a median average processing time of two working days.
For more than 3,500 people, it took more than 141 days to process their adult disability payment. The average that the cabinet secretary has just set out is way above what was promised in what was set out by the Government. The Department for Work and Pensions, which processes personal independent payments, is doing so faster. How has it got so bad that even the DWP is better than the Scottish Government?
I am sure that Mr Rennie is well aware that, under the DWP system, a customer—as the DWP calls people—is required to collate their own supporting information. People who have been involved in the DWP process describe that as one of its most stressful aspects. Under the adult disability payment, the collection of supporting information is carried out by Social Security Scotland on behalf of the client. That will take time, for example if information is requested from a health practitioner. That is one of the reasons why it is not appropriate to make a direct comparison between PIP and ADP.
As I said in my first answer, Social Security Scotland has taken a number of actions to improve processing times. I am happy to provide Mr Rennie with the full detail of that in writing.
What reassurance can the cabinet secretary give that the adult disability payment application process remains fixed to the core founding principles, with fairness, dignity and respect at its heart?
That is an important aspect of everything that Social Security Scotland does. One of the aspects of that is demonstrated by the example that I gave to Mr Rennie. It is important that the system was co-designed with people for whom there had been very poor aspects of their care under the DWP—if we can call it care.
However, in the client survey reports from Social Security Scotland, we have seen a high level of satisfaction with the way in which clients’ cases have been dealt with. Clients feel that they have been treated with dignity, fairness and respect.
I remind members that I am in receipt of PIP.
A number of individuals have been in touch to say that they are being denied their exemption from road tax as a disabled person because they are waiting months to be issued with a certificate of entitlement from Social Security Scotland. Can the cabinet secretary advise whether those delays were anticipated and why nothing has been done to rectify them?
Forgive me, Presiding Officer, but I did not pick up part of Mr Balfour’s question at the start, so I am happy to provide further details in writing if I have not correctly heard his question.
As I said to Mr Rennie, I appreciate that there have been delays in the adult disability payment. I can assure everyone, including Mr Balfour, that any payments that are due are backdated to the time of application. However, as I said, I may not have picked up Mr Balfour’s question correctly. If further details are needed, I am happy to supply those in writing.
As well as noting the adult disability payment figures, I see that the figures for child disability payment show that, in the first six months of the year—January to June—only 20.3 per cent of cases were processed within the four-month target, and the median processing time has worsened, rising from 91 working days in December 2022 to 102 working days in June 2023. Is it not clear from those statistics, coupled with the figures for adult disability payment, that the situation is getting worse, and that both people in receipt of ADP and families in receipt of CDP are waiting in limbo for decisions? What will the cabinet secretary do to deal with both those issues?
I am happy to provide the same information as I would provide to Mr Rennie on all the actions that Social Security Scotland has undertaken. As I said to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee at a recent appearance, the agency has invited the committee and its members to come up to Dundee to hear detailed information about exactly what has been put in place. It is unfortunate that the committee has not been able to take up that invitation, which has been outstanding for some time, but Mr O’Kane and others would certainly gain a lot of reassurance from such a visit. That would allow us to have a more in-depth and detailed conversation than we can have in these questions and answers. I am happy to say once again on behalf of the agency that it is more than happy to welcome the committee and other members to its headquarters if that would assist in providing much more detailed information about what is taking place to ensure that swift action improves processing times.
Older People in Poverty (Income Maximisation)
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports older people living in poverty to maximise their income. (S6O-02697)
Ensuring financial security in older age is a key priority for the Government, and we are taking a range of actions to support older people living in low-income households. Those actions include tripling the fuel insecurity fund, free bus travel for everyone over the age of 60, help with energy efficiency through warmer homes Scotland and replacing the Department for Work and Pensions cold weather payment with our new winter heating payment. In addition, our £3.2 million social isolation and loneliness fund is supporting 53 projects across Scotland to help provide warm spaces, hot meals, group activities and fuel payments to people who are most at risk of isolation, including older people.
The on-going lack of uptake of pension credit in Scotland means that 123,000 of our poorest pensioners are losing out on an average of £3,500 a year. They will also miss out on this month’s £300 cost of living payment. The United Kingdom Government must do more to encourage uptake, given that a recent initiative that it took included only one of Scotland’s 32 local authorities. I acknowledge that this area is a UK Government responsibility, but how can the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland encourage uptake to help tackle pensioner poverty, given the poor track record of the UK Government?
I am happy to work with Mr Doris to see whether there is anything else that can be done by Social Security Scotland, which delivers our devolved benefits. However, pension credit is a reserved benefit, as Mr Doris rightly points out.
While the Scottish Government is now on its benefit take-up strategy number 2, there is no such approach from the DWP. However, that does not mean that there is no need for the Scottish Government to ensure that we are doing everything that we can, so we continue to provide funding for income maximisation and welfare and debt advice, and we are committed to increasing the availability of advice within services such as health and education and in community settings. Mr Doris is quite right to encourage people to take up what they are entitled to because, according to the social security principles that we stand on, it is a person’s individual human right to take up their entitlements, and they should be encouraged to apply for what they are eligible for.
The inequalities of the gender pension gap are well documented, and the situation of the women born in the 1950s who lost out on the state pension has also been well documented through the Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign. When looking to maximise income support for older people living in poverty, what efforts can the Scottish Government make to support the WASPI women?
That issue is, again, reserved to Westminster, unfortunately, and the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament do not have the powers to alleviate the injustice that the WASPI women suffer because of the actions that have been taken by successive UK Governments, which is a deep disappointment to me, to the Government and to many members across the chamber. I hope that some of the actions and schemes on which I provided information in previous answers show the member that we are absolutely determined to support older people in general. It is a shame that we cannot do more to help the WASPI women, but it is outwith devolved competence.
Energy-efficient Rural Housing (Discussions)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice has had with ministerial colleagues regarding how to improve access to energy-efficient housing in rural communities. (S6O-02698)
Ministers routinely discuss cross-portfolio matters. The Scottish Government’s ambition is for everyone to have access to a warm, safe, affordable and energy-efficient home that meets their needs. That is why we have committed to delivering 110,000 high-quality and energy-efficient affordable homes by 2032, 10 per cent of which will be in rural and island areas to help to retain and attract people to those communities. That is on top of the additional funding that we provide in rural areas for social landlords and home owners to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes.
The energy efficiency supply chain is critical to supporting the provision of homes and upgrades, but there is a bottleneck in the ability of small businesses to host apprenticeships, which feeds through to the workforce—for example, more meter engineers are needed locally to work through a backlog of repair work. Will the minister look at how funding and administrative support can be targeted at local businesses, perhaps through Skills Development Scotland, to support capacity for more apprenticeships in the sector?
We are active in that area. In concert with industry voices, we have worked on the heat in buildings supply chain delivery plan and, in joint discussions with Graeme Dey, I am taking forward work on the skills and education side of things. It might be helpful if I were to give an update as part of my statement to the chamber when we launch the heat in buildings consultation.
Some of my constituents who live in Ratho, Bonnington Cottages, Hermiston village and Blinkbonny need support for energy efficiency and decarbonisation improvements. Many people are unaware that Home Energy Scotland’s grant and loan scheme offers a rural uplift. What work is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that rural households are aware of all the home energy funding opportunities that are available to them?
We run a regular nationwide marketing campaign to promote the support that is available. I encourage anyone who is interested in making energy efficiency or heating improvements to their home, whether they are in a rural or an urban area, to contact Home Energy Scotland for advice and support. It has a website that highlights the support that is on offer, and its network of regional advice centres allows us to maximise and tap into local promotional opportunities, including outreach and training sessions. We keep our approach to engagement and awareness raising under review, and we are keen to work with rural stakeholders to continue to increase awareness of the support that is on offer.
Disability and Additional Support Needs (Dumfriesshire) (Support)
To ask the Scottish Government what support it is providing to third sector organisations in Dumfriesshire to tackle inequalities and support disabled people and people with additional support needs, including supporting them into the workplace. (S6O-02699)
We recognise that the third sector plays a vital role in supporting work to tackle inequalities and support disabled people. I recognise the importance of clarity and stability to secure third sector resilience and grow its capacity.
To support the third sector with fairer funding, we will produce a plan to deliver improvements, including greater clarity in and consistency of existing arrangements. We regularly meet third sector and disabled people’s organisations and we support many in Dumfriesshire and across Scotland with a range of investments, including £5 million from the equality and human rights fund.
I highlight the work of the Usual Place, in Dumfries. I have been working with Emma Harper, Colin Smyth and Willie Rennie on a cross-party basis to secure additional Scottish Government support for that organisation’s vital work. It has hit a roadblock as it seems that it fits none of the existing funding options. Will the minister commit to looking at that again, to ensure the viability of the very important work that that organisation does to get young people into long-term employment? The Scottish Government should support that successful work.
I am aware of the work that Oliver Mundell and colleagues, including Emma Harper, have been doing to draw attention to the Usual Place’s situation. I know that my colleague Neil Gray, the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy, provided signposting for where the organisation could go for further support, and that the First Minister confirmed that £50,000 of funding would be made available for 2023-24. However, the Scottish Government is subject to the same volatile financial situation that has caused those financial difficulties for the Usual Place, so there is no more money at this time.
As Oliver Mundell has mentioned, cross-party colleagues have been working together to support the Usual Place, which provides invaluable support for young people who are living with additional support needs by helping them to contribute to society through gaining skills, qualifications and experience in the world of work. I reiterate Mr Mundell’s request and ask the minister to commit to doing all that she can for the Usual Place with advice, guidance and any support that she can offer, so that the organisation is here for the future.
I am grateful to Emma Harper and Oliver Mundell for raising the issue. As I said, we have provided signposting information and have asked the organisation to reach out to the local third sector interface. I am more than happy to provide similar information again and to speak with the members. As I said, we are all facing the same volatile financial situation thanks to Tory mismanagement down south, so, unfortunately, there is not a whole lot of extra money to be working with.
Tackling Depopulation (Highlands and Islands)
To ask the Scottish Government how it works collaboratively to tackle depopulation in rural areas of the Highlands and Islands region. (S6O-02700)
Our “Building a New Scotland” paper on migration in an independent Scotland sets out how migration is vital to the future of our rural and island communities. On Monday, I heard that at first hand in Fort Augustus from hospitality and seafood sector representatives, as we discussed the importance of attracting and retaining people in order to support rural and island areas to thrive.
In the meantime, our action plan for addressing depopulation will build on existing collaboration with Highlands and Islands local authorities through a population round table, jointly chaired by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and through our support for the Convention of the Highlands and Islands’s population working group and its oversight of community settlement officers, who deliver place-based interventions that support population attraction and retention.
The minister will be aware of the redundancies being made by BT and its subcontractor Blue Arrow in Alness. The only option open to BT staff is to relocate to Dundee or Manchester, causing rural depopulation. BT Group has been the benefactor of hundreds of millions of pounds of Government money through its partners Openreach and EE, yet it thumbs its nose at and undermines Government policy. Has the minister met BT to discuss the issue? If so, what response has she had? What interventions have been made by the Government and its agencies and what action are they taking to protect BT’s loyal workforce in Alness?
Having grown up in Alness, I am aware of the issue that the member raises, and I am more than happy to speak with my colleagues in the fair work portfolio and provide the member with any further information on conversations with BT about the planned closure.
Homelessness
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle the reported record levels of homelessness in Scotland. (S6O-02701)
Homelessness levels are on the rise in all parts of the United Kingdom. I am meeting with housing conveners across the country to discuss the challenges in reducing the number of households in temporary accommodation and supporting councils in developing targeted plans to address local need.
The impact on local authorities of increasing homelessness presentations is being compounded by the United Kingdom Government’s decision to streamline the asylum process, placing increased pressure on housing and homelessness services. Recently, the Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees wrote to the UK Government to seek funding for local authorities in order to manage the unprecedented pressures created by fast-tracked asylum decisions. I hope that Jackie Baillie and her colleagues can support that request.
The minister will know that, in the past year alone, some 39,000 homeless applications have been made, which is the highest number on record. The number of people being forced to sleep rough has doubled since last year and more than 6,000 children have been stuck in temporary accommodation for more than a year. Shelter Scotland statistics show that, on average, 45 children a day become homeless in Scotland. I am sure that the minister will agree that that is shameful. What action is he taking to urgently deliver support to people who are facing homelessness and, at its extreme, rough sleeping? Will he join Shelter and local authorities such as Argyll and Bute to declare the crisis a housing emergency?
We have undertaken a number of actions. In August, the First Minister and I visited Fife on the recommendation of the temporary accommodation task and finish group; we have launched the £60 million acquisitions fund; and I have spoken to local authorities about how allocation is implemented in their local areas.
Obviously, prevention duties will come forward in the forthcoming housing bill. I have also set up a ministerial oversight group, which includes nine ministers; it is looking at the overall subject of solving homelessness and, in that respect, issues such as drug abuse and looked-after children. That is incredibly important. Moreover, the question of how we bring empty homes back into operation was talked about at the housing summit in Edinburgh on Tuesday. We are looking at a number of things.
We spend £85 million a year on discretionary housing payments that we do not need to spend; we should be able to spend that money on homelessness. I urge Labour Party colleagues to support that approach, and I urge the UK Government to change that position.
The local housing allowance has been frozen for around four years—
Thank you, minister. We need to move on to the next MSP.
Miles Briggs has a supplementary question.
This time last week, councillors from all five political parties on the City of Edinburgh Council, including the minister’s party, declared Scotland’s capital city to be in a housing emergency and said that significant and urgent additional support was needed to meet the needs of Edinburgh’s people. Does the minister accept that Edinburgh is in a housing emergency? What emergency response will ministers give the City of Edinburgh Council?
It is a challenging situation. Mr Briggs and I were both at the Edinburgh housing summit, and I have met the City of Edinburgh Council at least half a dozen times since I took up my post seven months ago. We are looking at targeted interventions. We have talked about interventions that the council needs to make—on empty homes, for example—and there is also the issue of allocations, which it spoke to in our meeting. We will work very closely with the council on what we need to do to try to support that. Indeed, we already work very closely with it; as I have said, I have met it at least half a dozen times since I have been in post.
The root cause of Scotland’s housing shortage is, of course, a lack of housing supply. What was the increase in housing supply across all tenures last year? What does the Scottish Government plan to increase that to?
Last year to end June, the number of all sector new builds in Scotland increased by 7 per cent—or 1,481—to 23,346 homes, the highest annual figure since 2008. We are committed to delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, of which at least 70 per cent will be for social rent.
The recently published “Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan” supports our commitment to delivering at least 10 per cent of the target in rural and island communities. In fact, the 10,757 homes delivered to the end of June is the highest annual figure since the start of statistical figures in 2000.
Social Housing Waiting Lists (Support for Local Authorities)
To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers to local authorities to help reduce the number of people on social housing waiting lists. (S6O-02702)
I will probably touch again on some of the points that I mentioned in response to Jackie Baillie’s question.
The Scottish Government is supporting local authorities and registered social landlords with a range of approaches to local housing stock management, including large-scale flipping of tenancies, effective void management and greater allocations to homeless households. We will target £2 million at local authorities that face the most significant temporary accommodation pressures to support stock management activity and provide the resource needed to deploy capital moneys effectively.
We are also making £3.5 billion available over this parliamentary session for the delivery of the 110,000 affordable homes target, with at least 70 per cent of homes to be for social rent. Indeed, I should point out that, in Sharon Dowey’s South Scotland region, there has been an increase in that respect from the previous parliamentary session of £107 million—or more than 20 per cent.
Official statistics show that there are more than 240,000 people on social housing waiting lists, with 100,000 children waiting for a social housing placement. Councils are being overwhelmed with applications from people in need, but the Government has presided over a series of cuts to council and housing budgets. Will the Scottish Government increase the funding to councils so that they can help people to find the homes that they need?
I will make a number of points on that. When I go round speaking to local authorities and housing associations, I find that the biggest barrier to building more houses just now is inflation. Construction inflation has been around 15 to 20 per cent, which has meant that the £3.5 billion budget that we had set aside has effectively been cut in value by £700 million. That is the biggest bit of feedback that I am getting. If members speak to housing associations and local authorities, they will be told the same thing.
One of the key things is, as I mentioned in response to Jackie Baillie’s question, the local housing allowance. A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed that only 5 per cent of properties were suitable for people on benefits. Sharon Dowey could be really helpful if she spoke to her United Kingdom colleagues about this, because if the local housing allowance were unfrozen, we would see a massive difference in what we could do with our powers here.
Will the minister advise what effect the cut in the UK Government’s capital funding allocation this year is having on the Scottish Government’s ability to support local authorities to invest in social housing? What impact does he expect the anticipated 16 per cent real-terms UK Government cut to capital over the next five years to have on social housing provision?
The impact of the UK Government’s economic mismanagement is causing soaring inflation—as I touched on in my previous answer—and on-going austerity, and it is putting pressure on the Scottish Government’s budget. Because the UK Government did not inflation proof its capital budget, there will be a 7 per cent real-terms fall in our Barnett capital funding between 2023-24 and 2027-28, which will significantly impact on our ability to deliver on our capital infrastructure commitments.
Our £752 million budget this year has been supplemented by a £15 million contribution from the heat in buildings fund and donations from our charitable bond programme, which will enable us to invest in more socially rented homes.
Poverty (Impacts of Crime) (Discussions)
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the social justice secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding the impact of crime on poverty. (S6O-02703)
The Scottish Government recognises the strong relationship between deprivation and crime. Our document “The Vision for Justice in Scotland” and our tackling child poverty delivery plan recognise the need to work together to mitigate the impact of poverty and to reduce the number of people who have contact with the justice system.
Tackling poverty lies at the heart of what we do as a Government, and it is discussed regularly by ministerial colleagues. We are allocating almost £3 billion in 2023-24 to support policies that tackle poverty and to protect people as far as possible during the on-going cost crisis.
The single biggest cause of homelessness for women is domestic abuse, but many are trapped by poverty, with Rape Crisis Scotland saying:
“Safety should not have a price tag, but for too many women the cost of leaving an abusive relationship is simply unaffordable.”
There is a pilot project to financially support those seeking to escape a violent relationship, but it is three years late and limited to just five local authorities. What are women in the rest of Scotland supposed to do?
The leavers fund, which the member mentioned, is one example of the support that the Government, local authorities and the third sector can give women fleeing domestic violence. It is important that we continue to see that in the round. That is why I point the member to the other policies in our equally safe strategy that ensure that we support women at their most vulnerable time, which is what the Government intends to do.
That concludes portfolio questions on social justice. There will be a short pause before we move on to the next item of business to allow front-bench teams to change position, should they wish.
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