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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.

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Question reference: S5W-22245

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 29 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its consultation on disability assistance, whether access to accessible vehicle leases and equipment will be maintained in the event of a continuing payment being (a) reduced, (b) stopped, (c) subject to a challenge or re-determination and (d) awaiting a determination from the First-tier Tribunal, and whether the value of the access would be non-recoverable.

The Scottish Government will introduce Short-Term Assistance (STA) which will be available to clients who have an award reduced or stopped as a result of an entitlement decision and will ensure they will continue to be paid the full value of their assistance, where they have challenged the decision. If they are a customer of the Accessible Vehicle and Equipment Scheme and they are in receipt of STA, they will continue to be eligible to access the scheme until at least the conclusion of their challenge. This is, however, subject to HMRC and HM Treasury agreement to extend relevant tax exemptions to clients in receipt of STA. The assistance will not be recoverable, regardless of whether or not the challenge of the initial decision was upheld.

Question reference: S5W-22243

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 29 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its consultation on disability assistance, with regard to duration of awards, how it defines "significant development milestones" and the conditions under which these would occur, and which of these would require children to be reviewed in exception to the rule that it will introduce a "rolling award".

Question reference: S5W-22242

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 29 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its consultation on disability assistance, with regard to duration of awards, what mechanism it will use to agree a timeframe to consider the impact of a condition where a person has a fluctuating condition.

Question reference: S5W-22263

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with COSLA regarding the recognition of short-term assistance for the purposes of ensuring continuity of the passported entitlements that local authorities control during the period when short-term assistance is paid.

Question reference: S5W-22223

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, further to its comments in its consultation on disability assistance regarding Social Security Scotland's ability to use face-to-face assessments in prescribed circumstances for the determination of disability assistance for working age people, for what reason it has not requested specific feedback on this list of circumstances in its consultation; how it plans to manage the agency's freedom to decide where a face-to-face assessment is required, and how it will consult in further detail on the agency's proposed use of this power.

Question reference: S5W-22244

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its consultation on disability assistance, with regard to duration of awards, what mechanism it will use to determine whether a person is likely to have a significant change in their needs in order to set a review point, and whether a person will be entitled to request a re-determination of the decision to set a review point in isolation.

Question reference: S5W-22266

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government whether an individual can seek a re-determination or review of a decision of Social Security Scotland not to provide a home assessment.

The circumstances outlined in the Consultation on Disability Assistance in which the Agency may invite a person for a face to face assessment are consistent with section 14 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. The circumstances outlined in the consultation are those where an assessment may be the only practical way to obtain information. The approach outlined in the document has been informed by previous consultation and it is supported by advice from the Disability and Carers Expert Advisory Group. Question 64 of the Disability Assistance consultation requests any further comments consultees wish to make relating to Disability Assistance not specifically covered by the consultation document. This question allows consultees to provide any comments on areas they have not had the opportunity to provide.

Question reference: S5W-22237

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 21 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of its consultation on disability assistance, whether it plans to produce a list of the types of supporting information that will be considered and, if so, whether this will be inclusive rather than exhaustive.

Question reference: S5W-22247

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its consultation on disability assistance does not invite a response to its proposals regarding (a) fluctuating conditions, (b) the rate of benefits, (c) access to accessible vehicle leases and equipment and (d) appointees.

Question 64 of the Disability Assistance consultation requests any further comments consultees wish to make relating to Disability Assistance not specifically covered by the consultation document. This question allows consultees to provide any comments on areas they have not had the opportunity to provide.

(a) Information relating to fluctuating conditions is connected to the section on Duration of Awards and is covered within this area of the consultation document.

(b) We do not intend to change the rates of benefits for all forms of Disability Assistance and therefore are not asking any specific questions on this.

(c) We have set out in the section on Access to Accessible Vehicle Leases and Equipment that we intend to ensure that there will be an equivalent Scottish scheme in place in advance of the delivery of Disability Assistance. Based on the 2016 consultation we know that users of the current service are supportive of this approach. We therefore did not ask any specific questions on this.

(d) The rules on appointees are set out by The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018.

Question reference: S5W-22241

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 March 2019

To ask the Scottish Government what questions it has put to the social security experience panels regarding automatic entitlement to disability assistance, and what responses it has received.

Research was undertaken with Experience Panel members regarding automatic entitlement in July and August 2018. The findings were published on 29 November 2019 and can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/social-security-experience-panels-award-duration-automatic-entitlement/ . A visual summary is also available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/social-security-experience-panels-award-duration-automatic-entitlement-visual-summary/ .