Ben Macpherson MSP – Page 3 – The NEN

Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery team hits 10,000 appointments milestone

Minister praises impact of specially-trained advisers

A team dedicated to providing support to people applying for benefits has marked its 10,000^th appointment in its first year of operation.

Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery service was launched to offer support to people in their homes, at a convenient place within communities, by videocall or by phone.

Minister for Social Security, Ben Macpherson, said the milestone reached showed how Scotland was “doing things differently” in its approach to supporting people applying for benefits.

He hailed the success of the Local Delivery service as a source of pride during a visit to Parkhead Pantry in the East End of Glasgow.

Local Delivery representatives host a community stall at the Pantry – one of many ways they provide support for people who visit the venue.

Ben Macpherson said: “During its first year of operation, Social Security Scotland’s Local Delivery service has already made a very positive impact by helping thousands of people to access support they are entitled to.

“The Local Delivery service is a great example of how Social Security Scotland is doing things differently in how we deliver devolved benefits – by pro-actively offering people face-to-face support in communities across Scotland.

“Our specially-trained client support advisers can be proud of what they have achieved so far, in establishing a service that has already made an important difference and will help thousands of more people in the years ahead.”

The Local Delivery service, launched in November last year, provides face-to-face support from staff in all 32 Scottish Local Authority areas.

People can book in-person meetings with an adviser at home, in their local community or on either video or phone calls. They can answer queries and help clients with form filling.

During the visit Mr Macpherson met Aileen McGuire, the chief executive of Parkhead Housing Association which hosts the pantry at its Parkhead Schoolhouse building.

Ms McGuire said: “Having direct access to this Social Security Scotland has made such a positive difference to our tenants and residents in Parkhead, we are seeing the real benefits of partnership and collaborative working.

“There’s always an advantage to having face-to-face contact. A lot of our tenants feel more comfortable having direct contact, having somebody in person to explain things really does helps.”

Carers Week 2022: Rising pressures on unpaid carers as public backing for greater support grows

4.68 million unpaid carers concerned for physical and mental health
2.2 million carers worried about ability to cope financially
More care is being provided than ever before – even more than during the height of the pandemic
Overwhelming public support for more Government action to help unpaid carers

Carers Week charities are calling for an urgent 12-month plan of targeted support for unpaid carers, as many struggle with the ongoing impact, as well as the legacy, of the pandemic, together with the strain of the social care and cost of living crises.

For the first time, the impact of caring on their own physical and mental health has topped carer’s concerns, closely followed by money worries.

The research, released for Carers Week 2022 (6-12 June), reveals that 84% of the general public think that the UK governments should provide additional support to unpaid carers including increased financial support and investment in care and support services so that unpaid carers can have a break. Only 3% disagreed.

The report also shows that the number of unpaid carers remains higher than before the pandemic with one in five of the UK’s adults (approximately 10.58 million people) now supporting a relative, close friend or neighbour because of chronic illness, including mental ill-health, dementia, disability, or older age.

The intensity of care they are providing has grown since earlier in the pandemic, with several factors possibly having an impact: Many services remain reduced or closed, vulnerable people continue to shield, pressures on primary health care and the chronic shortage of social care. The numbers of people providing over 50 hours per week has risen by 30%.

At the same time, carers with lower household incomes were much more likely to be providing significant amounts of care (i.e, over 20 hours per week). Providing more care also reduces the chance to cope financially as carers are less likely to be able to juggle work and care.

The seven charities supporting Carers Week 2022; Carers UK, Age UK, Carers Trust, MND Association, Rethink Mental Illness, Oxfam GB and The Lewy Body Society are calling for a recovery and respite plan dedicated to the needs of carers including: specific investment in their mental health support, carers leave a priority, help with food and energy costs and ahead of the winter, prioritisation in the vaccination programme.

Commenting on behalf of Carers Week charities, Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK said: “Clearly, whilst society has opened up for many people, it’s a very different picture for significant numbers of carers.

“So many have sacrificed their physical and mental health caring for their loved ones over the last two years and as this report clearly shows, it is absolutely essential that carers get the support they need to stay well to be able to continue to care for their loved ones, that working carers are helped to stay in employment and that all carers can feel visible, valued and supported.”

Marking #CarersWeek, Social Security Minister @BenMacpherson recognises the dedication of carers.

@scotgov has introduced 2 new and unique benefits, Young Carer Grant and Carer’s Allowance Supplement – additional support of over £42 million to more than 90,000 carers this year.

New benefit will help 400,000 households with winter fuel bills

Low Income Winter Heating Assistance will support 400,000 households

A guaranteed annual winter heating benefit of £50 will be paid for the first time in February 2023 to around 400,000 low income households.

Low Income Winter Heating Assistance will be the Scottish Government’s 13th benefit and replaces the UK Government’s Cold Weather Payments. The UK Government benefit is unreliable for households on low incomes as it only triggers a £25 payment when a ‘cold spell’ requirement is met and temperatures fall below zero degrees Celsius for seven days in a row in a certain place.

Instead, the Scottish Government will invest an annual £20 million in Low Income Winter Heating Assistance, which will provide a reliable payment every winter to help with energy bills.

Plans for Low Income Winter Heating Assistance have been welcomed by people with experience of the benefits system. 90 per cent of members of the Social Security Experience Panel agreed with the plan to remove the ‘cold spell’ requirement, and provide a reliable payment instead.

Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “Our new Low Income Winter Heating Assistance benefit will provide a reliable payment every winter to around 400,000 eligible households, including pensioners and disabled people. This extra financial support from the Scottish Government will help at this time of rising energy bills and other cost of living pressures.

“Unlike the current Cold Weather Payments, Low Income Winter Heating Assistance will provide support to people irrespective of weather conditions or temperature levels where they live. It will be our thirteenth devolved benefit and will only be available in Scotland. It will also be an automatic payment to all those who are eligible, so there is no need to apply.

“Our £20 million annual investment will be a significant increase in support to around 400,000 households – compared with only £325,000 and 11,000 payments made by the UK Government in Cold Weather Payments in Scotland in winter 21-22.

“Making payments in February for the first year of Low Income Winter Heating Assistance will ensure a smooth transition from the UK scheme. We will explore the feasibility of bringing forward the payment date to earlier in winter in future years.

“This winter we will also be extending and increasing our Scottish Child Payment in November, as well as making Child Winter Heating Assistance payments for the third time. Both of these benefits are not available elsewhere in the UK.”

“Significant achievement” in delivery of social security – but “huge amount of work remains”

More than £3.9 billion to benefit 1 million people in 2022-23

A report published today by Audit Scotland has highlighted the Scottish Government’s “significant achievement” in the scale and pace of delivering the devolved programme of social security benefits in Scotland, including seven new payments unavailable anywhere else in the UK.

The report notes that this work continued despite ongoing challenges due to the pandemic. The report further acknowledges that the Scottish Government has continued to successfully deliver existing social security benefits and introduce complex new ones – including Scottish Child Payment, Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment – in challenging circumstances.

The report also recognises the importance of social security in our collective national mission to tackle child poverty, mitigating the cost of living crisis and addressing inequalities.

In line with Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts, the Scottish Government has committed over £3.9bn for benefit expenditure in 2022-23, providing support to more than one million people. This is over £360m above the level of funding to be received from the UK Government through Block Grant Adjustments.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “Successfully launching new benefits during the pandemic has been a significant achievement for the Scottish Government, but a huge amount of work remains.

“The government now needs to plan how it will manage to pay for greater social security spending alongside other policy initiatives.

“To demonstrate how it is achieving value for money, it also needs to be clearer about how this extra spending will improve the lives of people living in Scotland.”

Responding to the report, Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “I am pleased that this Audit Scotland report recognises the significant progress we have made in building a new public service from scratch since 2018 and delivering 12 benefits – seven of which are completely new forms of financial support that are not available anywhere else in the UK.

“We have successfully introduced a range of benefits that are now supporting carers and low-income families with their living costs, including with heating and we are helping disabled people to live full and independent lives.

“This year will see us deliver even more for the people of Scotland. Our Scottish Child Payment will be extended to eligible children aged under 16 and be increased to £25 per week per child by the end of the year, supporting over 430,000 eligible children; and in winter 2022/23 we will introduce our new winter heating payment for low-income households – a stable £50 payment that will support 400,000 low-income households with their heating costs.

“We will also continue to roll out Adult Disability Payment, our most complex benefit, and significantly progress transferring tens of thousands of Scottish disability benefit cases from the DWP to Social Security Scotland.

“I am proud that we have built our social security system with the people who will use it, and appreciate that the report acknowledges our focus has delivered a service built on our principles of dignity, fairness and respect. The report also notes the positive feedback people have shared about their experiences of engaging with Social Security Scotland.

“We have been ambitious in our delivery timeline – including introducing new benefits while dealing with the pandemic – and we are ensuring that we transfer tens of thousands of cases safely and securely from the DWP to Social Security Scotland.

“As well as delivering benefits now and in the period ahead, we are responsibly and ambitiously developing a new social security system that will serve Scotland for many years to come, putting people at the heart of everything we do.”

Social Security Scotland currently administers 12 benefits:

Carer’s Allowance Supplement
Pregnancy and Baby Payment
Early Learning Payment
School Age Payment
Best Start Foods
Funeral Support Payment
Young Carer Grant
Job Start Payment
Scottish Child Payment
Child Winter Heating Assistance
Child Disability Payment

Adult Disability Payment is the replacement for the UK Government’s Personal Independence Payment. It is being introduced in phases ahead of national rollout on 29 August.

nr_220519_social_security Download

Child Disability Payment pays out more than £3 million since launch

Payments made to over 3,000 children and young people across Scotland

More than £3.25 million has been issued in disability payments to children and young people since Child Disability Payment launched. It is estimated that as of 31 March 2022 a total of 3,050 children and young people were in receipt of the payment.

The total number receiving payments includes 555 people who have had their Disability Living Allowance for children payment transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions.

Figures for 26 July 2021 to 31 March 2022 include an initial pilot period where Child Disability Payment was only available in Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and the Western Isles local authority areas. The benefit opened to people across Scotland in November 2021. Payments began in February for children and young people whose awards transferred from DWP.

Almost three quarters (74%) of applications were made online, with 16% by phone.

Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “Social security is a shared investment in building a fairer Scotland and we encourage those who are eligible for support to apply.

“It is excellent to see that Child Disability Payment is already making a difference to the lives of thousands of children and young people, and their families. Families who find themselves in need of support can access this help in a way that suits them best.

“For the first time anywhere in the UK, we have an online application facility for applying for our disability benefits , and the high number of people choosing to use this demonstrates that we have been responsive to the way people want to access social security.

“We are determined to ensure there is a seamless process for all recipients whose payments are moving from DWP to Social Security Scotland, and we will continue to transfer cases in a safe and secure manner. Importantly, the process is automatic – people do not need to reapply and they will be kept informed at all times.”

Mark Ballard, Head of Policy for the National Deaf Children’s Society Scotland, said: “It’s been very important to have such positive and productive discussions with Social Security Scotland around our shared goal of making the new Child Disability Payment work for deaf children.

“Social Security Scotland has consistently taken on board our feedback, which is based on both the lived experience of the families we work with and our own specialist knowledge.

“We look forward to continuing to work with them to develop and enhance Scottish benefits for deaf children and their families.”

Extra support for 30,000 families

Best Start Foods eligibility to widen

Plans to remove all income thresholds from Best Start Foods by 2023-24 have been announced as part of the second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’.

This will increase eligibility to all people in receipt of a qualifying benefit. As a result, an additional 30,000 people are expected to benefit from Best Start Foods.

Best Start Foods is delivered via a prepaid card and provides £18 every four weeks throughout pregnancy, £36 every four weeks from birth until a child turns one, then £18 every four weeks from one until a child turns three.

The implementation of this change will be part of the successful delivery in the coming years of our significant, wider benefits programme.

Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “Tackling child poverty is a national mission for us. We continue to take the necessary steps to reach the ambitious targets set out in our Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan. Social security is one of the main pillars of this plan and will help us to deliver support directly into the pockets of those families who need it the most.

“The cost of healthy food was already a pressure for parents and carers, and the cost of living increases are only making this more challenging. We will remove the income thresholds for Best Start Foods so that around 30,000 additional people who receive tax credits or certain benefits will be able to receive Best Start Foods by the end of financial year 2023-24.”

Sharon Hill, the Development Manager of Mayfield and Easthouses Development Trust, which runs a community pantry in Midlothian serving local people, said: “We have been operating the pantry for less than a year but it is clear that people from all walks of life and backgrounds are looking for ways to cut costs when it comes to doing their essential food shopping.

“We encourage people to ensure that they get all the benefits that are available to them and we welcome any move to open that support up to include more people.

“Like many people involved in community pantries and food banks our aim is to help people get to a place where they don’t require these services any more.”

Background

The Scottish Government replaced the UK Healthy Start Voucher scheme in Scotland with Best Start Foods on 12 August 2019
Best Start Foods aims to help tackle the impacts of child poverty by supporting low income families to buy healthy foods
Best Start Foods is delivered via a prepaid card and provides £18 every four weeks throughout pregnancy, £36 every four weeks from birth until a child turns one, then £18 every four weeks until a child turns three
The card can be used to buy healthy food, including eggs, milk, fruit, vegetables and pulses
Applicants under 18 will be eligible for Best Start Foods during pregnancy and up until their child turns one, without the need to be in receipt of benefits
Applicants over 18 need to be in receipt of a qualifying benefit. At present, income thresholds also apply for some of these qualifying benefits. These income thresholds will be removed by 2023-24
Eligible families, and carers can find out more and apply at mygov.scot/beststart or by calling Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222
Best Start Foods is part of a package of Five Family Payments. By the end of 2022, the Scottish Government’s package of Five Family Payments for low income families will be worth up to a maximum of over £10,000 by the time a family’s first child turns 6, and £9,700 for second and subsequent children

Ben Macpherson surgeries tomorrow

Ben Macpherson MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith

This Friday, 6 May, I will be holding my regular ‘Drop-in Help & Advice Surgeries’ in Edinburgh Northern and Leith.

Do not attend if you are unwell. Please find the details below:

#HereToHelp

9:30am – 10:30am at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre (11 Pilton Drive North, Edinburgh EH5 1NF).11:00am –

12:00noon at Prentice Centre (1 Granton Mains Ave, Edinburgh EH4 4GA). 3:30pm –

4:30pm at Leith Community Centre (12A Newkirkgate, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6AD).

If you can’t come this Friday, and you need assistance from me as your local MSP, you can also contact my office via phone on 0131 600 0134 or email me at ben.macpherson.msp@parliament.scot

Walking for Europe: Europe Day 2022

Edinburgh4Europe will mark Europe Day by launching two new EuroWalks in Edinburgh, highlighting connections with our European neighbours.

What will you do on Europe Day this year? The European Movement in Scotland (EMiS) will mark the day by celebrating Scotland’s historic, and contemporary, links with our European neighbours. They have created a series of EuroWalks across Scotland to take in local landmarks with connections to European figures, places or historical events.

Edinburgh4Europe, the local EMiS group, is delighted to welcome Ben Macpherson (MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith) for the official opening of their Leith EuroWalk on Saturday, 7th May, at 11am outside the Custom House in Leith (65-67 Commercial Street).

The EuroWalk highlights a variety of Leith’s links to Europe, including Mary of Guise, Norwegian whalers and trades with the Baltic states.

On Monday, 9th May, a group of EMiS volunteers will lead a guided tour on a EuroWalk around Calton Hill.

The walk will start at 5.30pm from the Paolozzi Statues on Picardy Place:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/europe-day-eurowalk-edinburgh-tickets-331385702557.

The walking routes, with photos and information, can be found at this link: link: https://eurowalks.scot/, so these can be followed in person or investigated from your own home.

Looking to the future, the plan is to continue the growth of EuroWalks in collaboration with organisations such as Visit Scotland and to create a network of walks across Scotland, in cities, towns and the countryside, which collectively help us to celebrate our rich European heritage.

EMiS hopes these will achieve the twin aim of educating local residents (including the tens of thousands of European citizens who live in Scotland) and teaching visitors more about the connections between their own countries and Scotland.

EMiS wants this to be a truly collaborative, grassroots venture, drawing on ideas from people and communities across Scotland. Most of all, they hope to demonstrate the rich variety and scope of Scotland’s ties to the European continent. Because Europe is our past, Europe is our present and Europe is our future.

If you want to join in this enjoyable volunteer-led initiative, or have ideas or knowledge about a local European connection to include, please contact the EuroWalks team at walks4europe@gmail.com.

Edinburgh4Europe:

Edinburgh for Europe is a group that came together during the campaign in 2018 for a People’s Vote on the deal secured by the UK government to leave the EU. We are made up of people who are Scottish or EU citizens or both.

We are affiliated to the European Movement in Scotland, a movement which started after World War II and before the economic union began. We work to maintain good relations with citizens of European countries and to mitigate the effects of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.

Automatic awards to make accessing family benefits simpler

Plans have been announced to automatically pay the Best Start Grant Early Learning and School Age Payments to parents and carers who already receive Scottish Child Payment when their children become eligible.

The change will be introduced later this year when Scottish Child Payment is extended to under-16s and increased to £25 per child, per week.

This builds on extensive work already done to make applying for the Scottish Government’s five family payments as straightforward as possible.

It includes the ability to apply for all children in a household on a single form. The form can be completed online, by phone or on paper. Parents and carers contributed to the design of the form to make sure the language was clear and easy to navigate.

As set out in the recent Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’, the introduction of automatic awards will remove the need for eligible families receiving Scottish Child Payment to reapply when their child becomes eligible for the Early Learning and School Age Payments.

This will mean less paperwork for tens of thousands of families and ensure that families automatically receive the support to which they’re entitled.

On a visit to FARE Scotland in Glasgow, Minister for Social Security, Ben Macpherson said: “Tackling child poverty is a key mission for the Scottish Government and automating payments, where we already have all of the information we need to do so, will mean parents and carers automatically getting the financial support they are eligible for paid directly to them.

“Since launching Best Start Grant in December 2018, we’ve made more than 177,000 payments, totalling £55.3 million in support, families who need it most. Automating payments, where we can, will enable us to help even more families.

“We are committed to making sure that receiving our five family payments is as straightforward as possible. Automatic awards, increasing Scottish Child Payment to £20, and again to £25 by the end of the year, and uprating eight Scottish benefits by 6% are some of the ways we are using our limited social security powers and resources to help families in need.”

Jimmy Wilson, Chief Executive of FARE Scotland, said: “There are families who aren’t aware of all the benefits to which they’re entitled so anything that can be done to make the process simpler is to be welcomed.

“It’s more important than ever that people understand the help which is there for them.

“The advantages in having automatic awards could be significant. We hope this move has a positive impact on take up rates which could help to reduce and prevent child poverty and support family wellbeing.”

Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment and Best Start Grant School Age Payment are part of a package of Five Family Payments. This package also includes Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment, Best Start Foods and Scottish Child Payment. By the end of 2022, the Scottish Government’s package of Five Family Payments for low-income families will be worth up to a maximum of over £10,000 by the time a family’s first child turns 6, and £9,700 for second and subsequent children
The Early Learning Payment opened for applications on 29 April 2019 and provides £267.65 per child to support child development, for example travel costs, changes of clothes for messy play, trips out and toys for home learning
The long application window, from 2-3½, captures the 2 common ages for starting nursery, depending on whether parents qualify for a free nursery place when the child is 2 or 3. There is no requirement to take up a place at nursery to qualify for a payment
The School Age Payment opened for applications on 3 June 2019 and provides £267.65 per child to help with the costs of preparing for school, for example educational toys or after school activities. Eligibility is based on the child’s age and relates to when a child is first old enough to start school. The application window runs from 1 June in that year until the last day in February the following year. There is no requirement to take up a place at school to qualify for a payment
Between launching on 10 December 2018 and 28 February 2022, more than 177,000 Best Start Grant payments had been authorised. This figure does not include Best Start Foods
In 2022-23 we expect 52,000 households will receive £18 million of support through Best Start Grant (Scottish Fiscal Commission report published 9 December 2021). With projected take up rates of 76% for Pregnancy and Baby first births, 77% for Pregnancy and Baby subsequent births, 82% for Early Learning Payment and 80% for School Age Payment
The Scottish Fiscal Commission (report published 9 December 2021) has forecast that 20,000 people will receive the Early Learning Payment and 22,000 people will receive the School Age Payment during the 2022-23 financial year
Eligible families, and carers can find out more and apply at mygov.scot/beststart or by calling Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222