Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 63
63
Accepted
To successfully support people experiencing poverty many of these agencies require good collaborations and communications...
Recommendation
To successfully support people experiencing poverty many of these agencies require good collaborations and communications with the DWP and Social Security Scotland. Professor McKeever, Ulster University, emphasised the need for a ’better systemic approach’142 at the organisational level ‘of what each organisation needs to make the system work more smoothly’.143 When asked about their communications with the DWP, Kirsty McKechnie from the Child Poverty Action Group highlighted that it had ‘less contact with the UK Government [than the Scottish Government] which is sometimes regrettable’.144 They went on to say that information about the operation and delivery of benefits ‘has not been forthcoming’145 from the DWP and that this has a knock-on effect on how the organisations can advise claimants. They also stressed the point that if the communication with these organisations was timely and clear then this could ‘take some of the pressure off the DWP.’146 Marion Davis of One Parent Families Scotland agreed with this point of view saying ‘our experience is that DWP do not engage well in terms of communicating about key changes’,147 going on to say that new information ‘seems to appear on the DWP website when it is going live. It is not giving time for advice staff to digest and prepare for the impact.’148 They concluded by saying they would ‘welcome more 137 Q105 138 Q105 139 Q120 140 Q106 141 Q107 142 Q7 143 Q7 144 Q72 145 Q72 146 Q72 147 Q74 148 Q74 Welfare policy in Scotland 29 consultation’149 from the DWP on changes to the benefits system. This echoed evidence from Suzanne Lavelle at Southside Housing Association who told us it was ‘difficult for RSLs [Registered Social Landlords] to plan support services for tenants’150 to support people through the Universal Credit migration process due to shifting DWP timelines and limited communication of roll-out delays. Kirsty McKechnie from the Child Poverty Action Group reasoned that this lack of communication between the DW
Government response summary AI-generated
The DWP and Social Security Scotland have established a regular Operational Reference Group to improve communications and continuously enhance the benefits experience for shared customers.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
DWP delivers reserved benefits in Scotland and is temporarily delivering some devolved benefits under Agency Agreements on behalf of the Scottish Ministers. We will continue to ensure benefits are delivered effectively with appropriate sign-posting. These initiatives include: • DWP, in partnership with the Scottish Government, has developed a toolkit for Work Coaches to signpost people towards Scottish Government benefits administered by Social Security Scotland. • Links between GOV.UK and MYGOV.SCOT ensure cohesion between services for people when looking for the right benefits online. The first UK Government regular-payment benefit to be replaced by Scottish Government provision is Disability Living Allowance for children, which was replaced by the Child Disability Payment initially in Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and Western Isles from 26th July 2021 (applications for children living elsewhere in Scotland will open in Autumn 2021). • DWP and the Social Security Scotland have recently established a regular Operational Reference Group to look at ways to continuously improve the benefit experience of DWP and Social Security Scotland’s shared customers. The Group will review service delivery issues arising from people looking to access DWP/ Social Security Scotland benefits and consider any improvements for future benefit delivery. DWP staff in Scotland are focused on delivering a user-centred service. They have access to, and are fully aware of, the DWP Customer Charter and the Scottish Social Security Charter. With respect to the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare, it is co-chaired by the Secretary of State for Scotland and the relevant Cabinet Secretary in the Scottish Government, and attended by DWP Ministers, with the primary purpose of allowing Ministers to oversee, engage with and review progress on the implementation of the devolution of social security powers1 set out in the Scotland Act 2016. Its role is not operational.
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