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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

Find out more about parliamentary questions

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Question reference: S5W-23013

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Aileen Campbell on 21 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many staff have day-to-day responsibility for the development and analysis of its income supplement policy.

Question reference: S5W-23036

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how many carer's allowance claimants have an outstanding (a) overpayment and (b) fraud debt, broken down by the (i) value of the debt, (ii) year the debt was discovered, (iii) year the debt is attributable to and (iv) whether the claimant has an active payment or underlying entitlement of carer's allowance.

Question reference: S5W-23042

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request from the DWP, under its agency agreement, how many people who had entitlement to carer's allowance have sought an appeal of a decision to (a) supersede, (b) suspend or (c) terminate that entitlement as a result of them (i) entering full-time education, (ii) earning or having an income greater than the earnings limit or (iii) no longer caring for 35 hours per week and being unsuccessful at mandatory reconsideration, broken down by the (A) year the decision was made and (B) outcome of that appeal.

Question reference: S5W-23035

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government how it will limit the use of guidance as the basis for processing and determining applications and redeterminations of disability assistance.

Question reference: S5W-23031

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the reserved case law on disability benefits that it considers relevant to disability assistance as currently proposed.

Question reference: S5W-22852

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what the anticipated points of contact are in the process of requesting a social security redetermination, and whether it will publish a flowchart of these.

Social Security Scotland (the Agency) currently provide re-determination rights for all appealable benefits under the Social Security Act 2018. Clients can request this either by phone or completion of the re-determination form provided with first determination letters. There are at least four contact points between the client and the agency during this process.

The process is described on the mygov website: https://www.mygov.scot/if-you-do-not-agree-with-a-benefit-decision/ .

Question reference: S5W-22853

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether short-term social security assistance will be made available as soon as a request for a social security redetermination is first communicated to the agency or once the completed redetermination request is submitted in full.

Section 36 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 provides that Short-term Assistance will be available once a request for a‎ re-determination or an appeal is made. This is considered to be when the individual has submitted the re-determination or appeal form.

We are currently consulting on our proposals for STA, as part of the consultation on Disability Assistance, to inform the detailed design and operation of how it will operate.

Question reference: S5W-23043

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will request from the DWP, under its agency agreement, how many people with carer's allowance entitlement have had that entitlement (a) superseded, (b) suspended or (c) terminated as a result of them (i) entering full-time education, (ii) earning or having an income greater than the earnings limit or (iii) no longer caring for 35 hours per week, broken down by the year the decision was made.

Question reference: S5W-23030

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what analysis of reserved disability benefit (a) legislation, (b) regulations, (c) guidance and (d) case law Parliamentary Counsel has conducted for the purposes of incorporating those rules into Scots law.

Question reference: S5W-23046

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 08 May 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 May 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what management information regarding carer's allowance it has requested from the DWP, under its agency agreement, broken down by type of information.