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Chamber and committees

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 12 August 2025
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Displaying 1019 contributions

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Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 25 January 2024

Shirley-Anne Somerville

We were well aware that our decisions would mean a decrease to that budget. We are still working through how we can use that budget in different ways to allow more innovative finance, in order to get the maximum number of homes for our budget. That work is on-going and it is important that we continue to look at the different ways of financing, to ensure the maximum number of homes. I will bring in Sean Neill on that. We are continuing to work on how we can maximise that budget, which will, of course, vary the impact assessment at the end of the day.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 25 January 2024

Shirley-Anne Somerville

I draw members’ attention to one of the caveats in the Homes for Scotland report, which says that it does not think that the headline figure given in the report is the actual number of homes needed in Scotland. I appreciate that that figure attracted a lot of attention, but I caveat that with the part of the Homes for Scotland report that says that that is not actually its belief and that not that many homes are actually required.

Forgive me, Mr O’Kane, but my post-flu brain has forgotten the other part of your question. With my apologies to the convener, please say again what that was.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 25 January 2024

Shirley-Anne Somerville

It was about working with stakeholders.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Budget Scrutiny 2024-25

Meeting date: 25 January 2024

Shirley-Anne Somerville

In response to an earlier question, I set out how some of the budget decisions can be interconnected, not just in relation to equality and fairer Scotland impacts but also in relation to some of the other factors involved. Alongside the budget, we published analysis showing the impact that tax and social security measures have had on households with different income levels and characteristics. In response to feedback, this year’s equality and fairer Scotland statement included eight case studies, setting out the rationale for budget decisions in a transparent and accessible way, and one of those was on social security.

A great deal of work goes into the statement itself. This year, that has included a Cabinet-level workshop on the equality and fairer Scotland considerations. We will continue our process on the equality and fairer Scotland statement and make changes to it in the years ahead to develop that work further.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 7 December 2023

Shirley-Anne Somerville

I will bring in one of my officials on that.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 7 December 2023

Shirley-Anne Somerville

One of the reasons for having the regulations is to make sure that we are not working under the interim measures that I spoke about and that we are transparent about what is in place. There are data protection and privacy notice statements on the gov.scot website and they make it clear that we will share information. The website also includes mention of safeguarding, which clearly states that information will be shared in very specific circumstances when there are safeguarding concerns.

As all committee members will be aware, the sharing of information is an exceptionally sensitive matter, and a great deal of care must be taken to ensure that it is done lawfully. That is why those statements are made as people go through application processes. When it is not possible to ask a client for their consent for their information to be shared, the regulations still allow for that to happen. That is important because, as was mentioned in the discussion with Mr Doris, there may be coercion or other reasons why a client cannot give their consent at that time. We are still obliged to ensure that we share the information with all the care and sensitivity that the committee would expect the agency to show at that point.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 7 December 2023

Shirley-Anne Somerville

Consent is not required where a person lacks capacity to act. An example that might be helpful is referrals to the Office of the Public Guardian where people are covered by the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. As I mentioned, they cannot give consent.

I have probably touched on the other areas in previous answers. As I said, the regulations provide exemptions to allow for the sharing of information specifically where it is felt that there is “reasonable cause” to suspect that the individual is at risk of harm. That is the important aspect that we always come back to in this respect. I hope that that provides another example of how such a matter would be dealt with.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 7 December 2023

Shirley-Anne Somerville

At present, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, concerns about risk of harm are referred to local authorities under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978. However, as I mentioned, that does not cover scenarios of financial harm or financial abuse, which is an important aspect of the system that we develop in the regulations. As well as filling those gaps, the regulations absolutely maintain our commitment to supporting some of the most vulnerable people we engage with. Although we have had an interim process in place, it is important that we set out our approach in a clear and transparent fashion.

Monitoring is extremely important, given the sensitivity of the information and the importance that the agency and the Government overall attach to ensuring that we deal with it sensitively, appropriately and thoroughly. A new system of records is being developed to record statistics. Given the sensitive nature of the information in question, it is not held in the main system for all staff to see; it is held in a sensitive way such that only the staff who are dealing with the issues in question will be able to see it. They will be able to monitor that and report up to the executive team as required.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 7 December 2023

Shirley-Anne Somerville

They may not know that a safeguarding concern has been raised and delivered to the local authority or the Office of the Public Guardian. As Camilo Arredondo pointed out, it will be up to those organisations to deal with that as they usually would. Again, that is specifically about allowing a member of the agency’s staff to ensure that any concerns that they have are dealt with in an appropriate process within the agency. There is the legal ability for a concern to be handed over to the relevant authority, which can then use its own powers and usual manner of investigation to look into it. It would be for those authorities to determine what to do with that information and how to deal with the individual concerned.

Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Subordinate Legislation

Meeting date: 7 December 2023

Shirley-Anne Somerville

In a case where the agency believes that that is the only way that it can be done, yes. For example, the agency may fear that it would make the harm worse and allow a perpetrator of abuse to have more power and control, or more avenues for abuse, if the information is handled in another way. There is a sensitivity around dealing with the information and obtaining consent while also being very careful about how that is done. If it is not done sensitively, that could make an exceptionally difficult situation a lot worse.