Seòmar agus comataidhean

Our records show that that the answer to question S5W-06833 was provided to Parliament on 7 March 2017. The original answer has been replicated below.

In 2016-17 Scottish Government funding in the region of £40 million of will be made available for two distinct purposes:

specific project funding to support the provision of independent advice to individuals on income maximisation and the exercising of civil rights. In
2016-17 £22,110,310 of funding is being provided for 169 providers for advice-related projects and to Scottish Health Boards for development of Carer Information Strategies. A list of funded organisations and the amounts received in 2016-17 has been lodged with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 58524).

payments to solicitors to deliver legal advice on civil matters through the statutory Advice and Assistance (A&A) provision, a form of Legal Aid. This advice includes advising whether there is a legal case to take forward, negotiating a settlement, and writing letters on the applicant’s behalf. A&A will not usually cover representation in court although a type of A&A - ‘Assistance By Way of Representation’ (ABWOR) is available in some circumstances to allow a solicitor to represent their client in proceedings. For Civil Advice and Assistance, budget provision of £20 million has been made in 2016-17. This is a demand-led budget so it is not yet possible to say what the total actual expenditure for 2016-17 will be. However, actual expenditure for 2014-15 and 2015-16 has been set out in the following table for comparative purposes.

Investment in the provision of advice services is made across the Scottish Government as part of a strategic commitment to build a fairer nation and tackle deprivation, poverty and inequality. The information provided above is the best available at this time drawn from a review that the Scottish Government is currently undertaking of its support to advice services. The review to date has collated information on spending in 2016-17 but has not sought historical information.

Budgets for 2017-18 are still being finalised therefore no further information on future spending can be provided at this time.

We used the Scottish Health Survey to estimate that there are around 15,000 young carers aged 16-18, and around 29,000 young carers aged under 16. This gives a total estimate of 44,000 young carers aged under 18. The Scottish Government committed to considering the introduction of a Young Carer’s Allowance to provide extra support for young people with significant caring responsibilities. We are currently developing a package of support for young carers, and once the details have been confirmed we will be in the position to estimate how many will receive Young Carer's Allowance.

Official statistics on the number of Council Tax Reduction recipients are published quarterly. Statistics, to be published in September, will include details on the new low income relief for households in Bands E to H.

New benefits will be introduced through secondary legislation, using powers contained in the Social Security (Scotland) Act, if the Parliament agrees to pass this legislation and grant those powers. The Scottish Government is currently considering the introduction of a Young Carer’s Allowance to provide extra support to young people with significant caring responsibilities.

Any extension of the carer’s benefit may be introduced through secondary legislation, using powers contained in the Social Security (Scotland) Act, if the Parliament agrees to pass this legislation and grant those powers. The Scottish Government is currently considering the introduction of a Young Carer’s Allowance to provide extra support to young people with significant caring responsibilities.

Our recruitment drive came to an end on 12 May 2017 and I’m delighted that we have over 2,300 people across Scotland ready and willing to work with us as part of the Experience Panels.

Over 400 Experience Panels members have experience of Carer’s Allowance. The registration form did not collect information on the ages of members. The first thing that we will do with our panel members is carry out our ‘About You’ research. As part of this, we will collect more detailed demographic information, including age.

The Scottish Government is committed to introducing a Job Grant to help 16-24 year olds who are returning to work after a period of six months unemployment. Work is underway to clarify any legislation requirements and we are engaging with local partners, as well as young people, to develop the detail of the Grant and we will announce a date for implementation in due course.

The agenda for the next meeting of the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare is still to be agreed.

The new GP contract is agreed through a process of bilateral discussion between the Scottish General Practitioners Committee and the Scottish Government. These negotiations are commercially sensitive and details will be published once they have concluded.

The administrative lead-in time for arranging each year’s winter fuel payments by the Department of Work and Pensions is around 18 months and therefore any changes have to be arranged far in advance. Furthermore, UK Government regulations, to commence the relevant section of the 2016 Scotland Act, have yet to come into effect. As a result payments will not be brought forward for 2017-18.