Seòmar agus comataidhean

Estimates of the number of applicants expected for the Maternity and Early Years Allowance will depend on decisions yet to be taken about the rollout of this benefit and the eligibility criteria that will be used.

For the purposes of policy development, we have estimated that, if current Sure Start Maternity Grant take-up rates and eligibility criteria were maintained, around 40,000 awards would be made each year. If full take-up were achieved and all eligible families received a grant we estimate that somewhere in the region of 85,000 awards would be made each year.

These figures are estimates of the total numbers of awards that would be made in a year and so combine payments on birth, upon a child starting nursery and upon a child starting primary school.

Source: Scottish Government analysis based on Department for Work and Pensions figures.

Information on the number of applications and the annual cost of these payments is held by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Our intention is to create a Maternity and Early Years Allowance. For those eligible, a maternity payment will be made for the first child of £600. Maternity payments for second and subsequent children will be £300. Payments of £250 will be introduced for all children when they start nursery and again when they start school.

We are still considering our plans for the operation of the new Maternity and Early Years Allowance, including questions such as eligibility criteria and timescales for introduction. We want to implement the new benefit, which will replace the Sure Start Maternity Grant, as soon as practically possible. We have been consulting stakeholders including users, potential users and interested groups and will continue to do so over the summer to gather views to inform decisions and the required legislation. We will also be taking forward the next steps in the delivery process, which will involve financial, legal and practical considerations.

For the purposes of developing the Maternity and Early Years Allowance, Scottish Government officials have carried out an assessment of the cost of essential items for a new born child and shared these with stakeholders. We consider that these items could be bought with the £600 maternity payment that the Maternity and Early Years Allowance will make for first children. Officials have also sought opinions from users and potential users about their perception of the level of the current Sure Start Maternity Grant. Support with the overall or basic costs of having a child will continue to be met through a combination of benefits, many of which remain reserved and which make regular payments in addition to those planned by the Scottish Government on receipt of additional powers.

The Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 contains a regulation making power to enable Scottish Ministers to introduce a licensing scheme for funeral directors. The introduction of such a scheme will be considered once inspectors of the funeral industry have been appointed under the Act and they have reviewed how the industry operates and made recommendations to Scottish Ministers.

Estimating the number of people who are eligible for the funeral payment is difficult because of the limited Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) data available and the unpredictable nature of life events.

Table 1 provides estimates of the number of possible Funeral Payment awards that would be made in 2016-17 to 2020-21.

Two sets of figures are provided. The first column estimates of the number of payments that would be made if current take-up levels were maintained.

The second column provides a very rough estimate of the number of payments that could be made if we managed to achieve maximum take up the funeral payment based on current eligibility criteria.

Table 1: Forecast number of funeral payment awards in Scotland, 2015-16 to 2020-21

Source: Scottish Government analysis based on Department for Work and Pensions figures

Table 2 shows the numbers of funeral payment applications and awards in Scotland in 2010-11 to 2014-15.

Source: UK Government parliamentary question 11102

Annual costs and the average award are available from DWP.

Note for table 2:

All figures are rounded to the nearest 100.

The applications figures are based on applications received by DWP, not applications processed. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.

The award figures include awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initial refusal.

These figures do not include cases which have been processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund computer system.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-00236 on 14 June 2016. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.