Seòmar agus comataidhean

With effect from 15 July, Scottish Ministers amended the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 to remove the restriction on the number of households allowed to be present at marriage ceremonies and civil partnership registrations.

At present, we are advising that no more than 20 people should attend a marriage ceremony or civil partnership registration, provided they can be accommodated safely with physical distancing in the chosen venue. This limit will be reviewed again at the end of August.

Our position will continue to be kept under careful review and we will continue to consider ways to permit marriage ceremonies and civil partnership registrations to take place safely. Any further changes to the current limit on numbers will depend on public health advice.

Social Security Scotland uses data from the Department of Work and Pensions to send ‘Invitation to Apply’ letters. This does not mean that the Department of Work and Pensions supplies Social Security Scotland with data on every live Universal Credit claim in Scotland as it would not be appropriate for them to share data which we do not need to deliver our services.

Instead, the Department of Work and Pensions only shares data on live Scottish Universal Credit claims, where the client’s family includes a child or children under the age of 6 years old. This data does not cover claims that have ended, in the period since the last extract of data was shared, or any unprocessed Universal Credit applications.

This data enables Social Security Scotland to process Best Start Grant and Best Start Food applications. We compare the data received from the Department for Work and Pension, against our records of the payments we have already made and the applications we have received, so that we do not send an ‘Invitation to apply’ letter to anyone who has already had a payment or who has recently applied.

Social Security Scotland routinely monitors applications received and this information will be used to monitor the effectiveness of letters being issued. Information on applications received is published as part of the quarterly Official Statistics publications on Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods.

Social Security Scotland will write to families once for each Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods that they may be eligible for.

As part of operating the Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, Department for Work and Pensions provides information monthly and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs provide information weekly.

Social Security Scotland will be reviewing the effectiveness of the letters and this will inform future use of Invitation to Apply.

Fair Start Scotland aims to support those who face the greatest challenges accessing the labour market. For carers who are faced with the challenge of returning to work, it provides flexible support, taking into account personal circumstances and removing barriers to accessing work.

It is delivered collaboratively across a range of private, public and third sector delivery partners including a range of specialist providers to ensure people receive the right type of support.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-28039 on 3 April 2020. 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

The rescheduling of the introduction of disability benefits as a result of Coronavirus meant that it was necessary to end the tendering exercise which was being undertaken for the provision of a comprehensive advocacy service before it had been concluded. The original tender contained specifications on what information would be gathered from the service provider and reported on in due course.

We launched an interim advocacy service on 30 June to support disabled people to access Social Security Scotland benefits.

During the course of this interim service we will work with appointed advocacy service providers to collate appropriate information to report on. As take up of the interim service is anticipated to be low, any reporting will be dependent on not compromising the identity of those making use of the service.

The re-tender for the comprehensive service will again contain specifications on information gathering for reporting purposes.

A pause in routine recruitment commenced on Friday 27th March 2020. The pause in routine external recruitment was lifted on Monday 20 July. There is no date at this time for ending the pause in routine internal recruitment. Covid and other critical recruitment has continued through the lockdown period.

73 directly employed staff have ended their employment with the Scottish Government since the start of the lockdown. We do not record vacant posts within our central HR system, nor is every post retained after being vacated. We therefore do not have information on how many of these posts remain unfilled. However, we currently have 72 external recruitment campaigns, which includes vacancies created by these leavers.

Social Security Scotland will publish the advice and guidance supplied to decision makers on the benefits which it currently delivers by Summer 2020.