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The Scottish Government is working towards having the advocacy provision in place for the delivery of the first devolved disability benefits in 2020.

The Prior Information Notice (PIN) published on 3 April alerted interested parties to the Scottish Government's intention to establish an Advocacy Service for the Scottish Social Security system. Alongside the PIN, the Scottish Government published a "Request For Information" (RFI). The RFI sought information from the advocacy sector around contract options, capacity and outcomes to enable the SG to develop a suitable procurement strategy. Services were able to ask for further information and seek clarity while the RFI was open.

Officials have also been working with advocacy and other third sector organisations around the development of the advocacy service standards required by the Act. At meetings with these organisations, officials outlined the procurement options being considered.

Social Security officials have liaised with colleagues responsible for the development and introduction of Children's Hearing advocacy services and shared knowledge and experience where this was relevant.

Any procurement process would require bidders to indicate capacity to provide advocacy support and to demonstrate how they would intend to recruit and train staff. This would be assessed as part of tender evaluation.

Ten third sector organisations responded to the prior information notice/request for information. The number of bodies requesting information cannot be given as the Public Contracts Scotland portal anonymises questions.

Reporting and operating arrangements would be agreed with the contractor or contractors as part of any procurement process.

The £10 million capital funding in the 2019-20 Social Security Directorate budget is allocated to the development of IT systems.

The Scottish Government notes the publication of the National Audit Office report ‘Investigation into overpayments of Carer’s Allowance’ and the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP) actions to address the issues it identifies.

In September 2018 I wrote to the UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to make clear that in any debt recovery action, individual circumstances should be taken into account. Following publication of the National Audit Office report, I have again written to the UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to reiterate that individual circumstances should be taken into account when recovering overpayments and measures should be taken to ensure that individuals are not disadvantaged or placed into hardship as a result of overpayment recovery.

The Scottish Government will ensure that all assessors are suitably qualified to carry out their role, with a proportion of assessors specifically trained in the impact of mental health conditions. Specialist Advisors will also be available to provide information and advice to Case Managers on matters which require specific input, including in relation to mental health. Our approach to assessments is explained in the consultation which can be found through the following link:  .

At 24 April 2019, 123 responses had been received on the Consultation on Disability Assistance in Scotland.

The Consultation is due to close on 28 May 2019.