- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government when the review of the social security programme planning arrangements (a) began and (b) is expected to conclude.
Answer
A review of the Social Security Programme planning arrangements began on 28 January 2019, and is expected to conclude this summer. It forms part of ongoing Programme continuous improvement activities.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) staffing hours and (b) financial resources it has committed to update the social security programme business case.
Answer
Scottish Government staffing hours on updating the Social Security Programme business case are not tracked and are part of the overall programme effort. The financial resources committed to update the Social Security programme business case is circa £125,000 (excluding VAT).
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 5 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-22836 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 May 2019, whether the DWP has agreed to take into account the individual's circumstances when recovering overpayments, and how many claimants have had recovery action reduced as a result of the cabinet secretary's correspondence.
Answer
I have not yet received a response from the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Russell on 4 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government when the findings of its consultation on disability assistance in Scotland will be published.
Answer
Public responses will be published online within 20 working days of the consultation closing. Following analysis of the consultation findings, a report will be published later this year.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) staffing hours and (b) financial resources it has committed to the review of the social security programme workforce.
Answer
The social security programme workforce review was part of our ongoing programme business and continuous improvement approach, involving a number of staff from a variety of roles across the programme and was therefore not costed separately. There was no additional financial resource committed.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government when service design of Disability Assistance for Children and Young People will begin.
Answer
The service design for Disability Assistance for Children and Young People has already begun and is ongoing.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 23 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government which branches form the Social Security Reserved Benefits and Strategic Engagement Division; what the function of each is, and how many staff there are in each, broken down by (a) headcount and (b) FTE.
Answer
The Social Security Reserved Benefits and Strategic Engagement Division consists of two units; the Reserved Benefits Policy Unit and the Stakeholder Insights and Strategic Engagement Unit.
The following table details the current functions of each branch.
RESERVED BENEFITS POLICY UNIT | STAKEHOLDER INSIGHTS AND STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT UNIT |
Universal Credit and Working Age Benefits team Income Supplement, Child Benefit and State Pensions team | Stakeholder Insights team Strategic Engagements team |
The figures in the table below provide a breakdown of (a) headcount and (b) Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff numbers as of 1 July 2019.
RESERVED BENEFITS POLICY UNIT | STAKEHOLDER INSIGHTS AND STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT UNIT |
Headcount | FTE | Headcount | FTE |
7 | 7 | 9 | 8.7 |
Headcount total: 17* | FTE total: 16.7* |
*Total includes the Head of Division
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government when the review of the social security programme workforce (a) began and (b) is expected to conclude.
Answer
An internal review of the programme workforce needs to support the next phase of delivery began in December 2018, with staffing profiles agreed in April 2019 in line with Scottish Government financial processes.
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 28 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government when the review of the social security programme finance functions across the programme and agency (a) began and (b) is expected to conclude.
Answer
The review of financial functions began February 2019 and is expected to conclude shortly. The purpose of the financial review is to ensure that financial arrangements are evolving as the Social Security Programme grows in scale and complexity
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 June 2019
To ask the Scottish Government whether service design of Disability Assistance for Children and Young People is contingent on the outcome of its consultation on disability assistance in Scotland.
Answer
The service design of Disability Assistance for Children and Young People is being developed according to Agile methodology. It is not wholly contingent on the outcome of the Scottish Government’s Disability Assistance consultation, but will be substantially informed by the responses to this consultation.