Questions and answers

Chamber and committees

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 ��˿�� 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-27793

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response was to the recommendation by the National Carer Organisations that Carer's Allowance should be a qualifying benefit for the Job Start Payment.

Question reference: S5W-27792

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 06 March 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what modelling or assessment it conducted to determine the viability of the National Carer Organisations' recommendation that Carer's Allowance should be a qualifying benefit for the Job Start Payment.

The purpose of the Job Start Payment is to provide support with the costs of starting work to young people who have been out of paid employment for at least six months and who may otherwise struggle with the costs to take up a job offer. The purpose of the qualifying benefits is to enable an applicant to demonstrate, and to enable Social Security Scotland to verify, that the applicant meets that criterion. That is why Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance and Universal Credit were chosen as qualifying benefits. Including other benefits provided to people with caring responsibilities or for other reasons would not enable that to be demonstrated.

Question reference: S5O-04294

Current Status: Withdrawn

Question reference: S5W-27647

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how many Best Start Grant applicants have had their application refused in cases where they have had a universal credit adjusted amount greater than £0 but have not paid anything because of other deductions, as noted by the President of the Social Security Chamber in Decision Report 5.

Universal Credit has been a qualifying benefit for the Best Start Grant since its introduction in December 2018.

When assessing an application for Best Start Grant, Social Security Scotland considers the adjusted amount of any Universal Credit award, before deductions or reductions, in order to establish eligibility. An adjusted universal credit award of more than £0 before such deductions or reductions is classed as a qualifying benefit.

We have no plans to update application guidance, internal information or regulations following the publication of Decision Report 5.

Question reference: S5W-27620

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-20328 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 12 December 2018, how it has evaluated the Universal Credit Scottish choices, and when it will publish its findings.

The Scottish Government is committed to evaluating how the Universal Credit Scottish choices are understood and experienced by people in Scotland. We have been working with the Department for Work and Pensions since 2018 to determine how the Scottish Government, and its researchers, can securely access the relevant client data. The DWP has determined that this would require new data sharing agreements, and its timeline to deliver these has led the Scottish Government to decide upon an alternative approach. An invitation to tender, commissioning qualitative research to inform the evaluation, was advertised on 5 March 2020. We intend to publish the evaluation’s findings in late 2020.

Question reference: S5W-27648

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 10 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it is updating (a) application guidance, (b) internal information and (c) regulations to take account of the observations of the President of the Social Security Chamber in Decision Report 5.

Question reference: S5W-27566

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 21 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Jamie Hepburn on 5 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-27328 by Jamie Hepburn on 21 February 2020, when each cohort improvement activity plan commenced, and whether it will publish these plans.

Question reference: S5O-04234

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Thursday, 27 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Sandra White on behalf of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body on 5 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will conduct a feasibility study to investigate extending accessibility arrangements to cross party groups.

The SPCB is committed to providing accessibility support to enable members of the public to engage in parliamentary business. For instance, FMQs are currently interpreted into British Sign Language (BSL) to enable BSL users to follow the live proceedings.

However, Cross Party Groups are not a formal part of parliamentary business and the SPCB’s responsibilities to ensure the provision of resources for parliamentary purposes do not extend to CPGs.

Section 6 of the Code of Conduct for Members of the Scottish Parliament makes it clear that CPGs may use the Parliament’s facilities only where these are available for public use and that Groups may not draw on the resources of the Parliamentary staff to service meetings other than to book meeting rooms.

The Public Information office can provide guidance and advice for Members or CPGs on how to contact potential providers, including giving advice on points to note when arranging translation or interpreting.

Question reference: S5O-04265

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 March 2020
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 12 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the Scottish Fiscal Commission's forecast that spending on devolved employability services will be £27 million lower in 2022-23.

Question reference: S5W-27446

Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Friday, 14 February 2020
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 March 2020

To ask the Scottish Government how (a) many and (b) much in overpayments of (i) Best Start Grant, (ii) Funeral Support Payment and (iii) Carer's Allowance Supplement have been made to date, and how (A) many and (B) much were due to (aa) an official and (bb) a customer error.

Best Start Grant, Funeral Support Payments and Carer’s Allowance Supplement are administered by Social Security Scotland. Social Security Scotland currently publishes details of overpayments within their Annual Report and Accounts. The most recent Annual Report and Accounts covering the seven months to 31 March 2019 was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 26 September 2019, the latest Annual Reports and Accounts can be found at the following link: .

Our next set of annual reports and accounts which will include details of overpayments will be published by 31st December 2020.