Disability and Carer Benefits Expert Advisory Group - pension age disability payment: response from ministers

Thank you for your letter dated 24 August 2022 regarding Pension Age Disability Payment. I know that you have also had constructive discussions with officials, and we welcome your feedback.

I have considered your recommendations and am pleased to confirm that I am broadly supportive of many of them. Please see my responses to each of them below, in turn.

Improvements for future consideration

Recommendation 1: We agree that initially Pension Age Disability Payment eligibility criteria should align with those of Attendance Allowance for the completion of a safe and secure transfer but this should not inhibit consideration of improvements to Pension Age Disability Payment soon after.

I partially accept this recommendation.

As my priority remains the safe and secure transfer of people’s awards from the Department for Work and Pensions to Social Security Scotland, the Scottish Government appreciates your continued support for this. To ensure people continue to receive the payments they are entitled to, I therefore won’t be introducing fundamental changes to the existing Attendance Allowance eligibility criteria when delivering Pension Age Disability Payment. What we deliver on day one is not the limit of our aspirations though – we are setting up this system in a way that it can continue to evolve and improve in future.

Although I do not plan to review the eligibility criteria for Pension Age Disability Payment, I will be introducing a number of practical administrative improvements that will provide disabled people with a different experience when accessing the support they are entitled to. We will ensure older people who require Pension Age Disability Payment have a choice of inclusive application channels including the ability to apply online, by telephone, using a paper form or in person.

We will also have Local Delivery staff who will provide one-to-one support and help disabled people to understand what devolved benefits they may be entitled to. They can also provide assistance to complete application forms and take forward any follow-up actions relating to a person’s application. As with our other disability benefits, Case Managers within Social Security Scotland will, if requested, help people to gather supporting information where they do not already have it to hand. Further to this, we will ensure that people can easily request a third party representative to support them in their interactions with Social Security Scotland, including during the application and decision-making process. I believe this strikes the right balance to encourage people in this age group to gain support from friends and relatives when required, while also maintaining their financial independence.

Finally, the Scottish Government’s new definition of terminal illness will also apply to Pension Age Disability Payment. Our definition removes the arbitrary timescale currently used by the Department for Work and Pensions on the anticipated life expectancy of an individual who is terminally ill. Instead, the judgement as to whether a person should be considered terminally ill for the purposes of Pension Age Disability Payment will be made by clinicians based on guidance prepared by the Chief Medical Officer. This will ensure people who are already in extremely difficult circumstances will have access to the maximum level of financial support they are entitled to – quickly and with dignity.

Recommendation 2: The Scottish Government should commit to further exploring the introduction of a mobility component to Pension Age Disability Payment to bring this in line with other forms of disability assistance and to better meet the obligations of a system designed in line with a rights based approach.

I do not accept this recommendation.

Our policy position paper, published February 2020, includes detailed analysis of the relevant considerations factored into our decision not to introduce a mobility component for Pension Age Disability Payment. Whilst I recognise that the Group has recommended that no significant changes to the eligibility criteria should be considered until safe and secure transfer is complete, there are a number of key reasons why introducing a mobility component wouldn’t be feasible within the foreseeable future.

Given the financial implications outlined in our paper, the Scottish Government is not currently in a position to further consider the introduction of a mobility component. Within the policy position paper, we estimated that the introduction of a mobility component could cost an additional £580 million annually. However, this cost would increase annually and, with an aging population, is likely to grow substantially in the coming years. The affordability of this option needs to be carefully considered as the Scottish Government would have to find this additional funding from our fixed budget. Given the highly challenging fiscal environment, such a significant increase in costs would require us to reduce spending on other key social security priorities and this is not something I am prepared to do.

Additionally, by introducing fundamental changes to the eligibility criteria for Pension Age Disability Payment there is a risk that an alternative to the existing “passporting” arrangements would be required to enable the Department for Work and Pensions to continue identifying disabled people in Scotland who are eligible for reserved benefits and premiums. Identifying an alternative to “passporting” could require significant resources to undertake. Ensuring disabled people continue to seamlessly receive the vital reserved support they’re entitled to remains a key priority for the Scottish Government.

Recommendation 3: The equalities impact assessment for Pension Age Disability Payment should specifically reflect the equalities impact of not providing a mobility component.

I accept this recommendation in full.

The Scottish Government recognises social security as a human right and is required by law to assess the impact of all its policies and practices. Therefore, equalities impact assessments will be at the centre of all policy and regulatory developments for Pension Age Disability Payment.

Recommendation 4: The financial analysis of amending the Pension Age Disability Payment eligibility criteria, for example introducing a mobility component, should compare the cost of increased benefit expenditure to the wider costs of not making the change. This should consider the savings to other areas of public spending, including for example social care and healthcare, introducing such changes could help to generate. This full cost/benefit analysis should include well-resourced direct experience input, as well as high quality quantitative analysis.

Although I agree in principle, I can only partially accept this recommendation.

The Scottish Government aims to reduce inequalities under the National Performance Framework by ensuring economic, environmental and social progress considerations are treated with equal importance throughout the development of policy. As referred to previously, the Scottish Government has already undertaken a financial analysis of amending the eligibility criteria in relation to the mobility component. Undertaking a further broad financial analysis as recommended by the Group, would require significant resources to undertake.

Delivering Value for Money is always a key consideration in our policy development process, it is enshrined as a principle within the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. We will continue to undertake high quality quantitative analysis to support our policy approach and explore alternative options where savings can be found from other areas of public spending.

Furthermore, as my priority remains the safe and secure transfer of people’s payments, I do not intend to introduce fundamental changes to the eligibility criteria from that of Attendance Allowance when Pension Age Disability Payment launches. This includes my decision not to introduce a mobility component, as set out in my response to Recommendation 2 above.

However, I recognise that social security is a human right and an investment in the people of Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to continually improving our disability benefits by continuing to engage with disabled people and stakeholders to identify areas for further improvement in future. We gather data from up to 2,400 volunteers with lived experience of the current social security system that are registered as Experience Panel members to help build a system that works for people. We have also utilised the Client Survey to learn about the overall experiences and needs of disabled people with a Social Security Scotland award and continue with ad hoc research through Client Panel members to explore further any issues that may arise to inform future improvements.

Application process, support and signposting

Recommendation 5: A Pension Age Disability Payment application should form part of a larger ‘holistic assessment’ specifically tailored to the needs of older people with active referral pathways to and from all related and appropriate services.

I partially accept this recommendation.

Whilst I agree in principle with the Group’s suggestion about active referral pathways, this recommendation involves undertaking a broader assessment of a person’s needs which is within the remit of other public services provided by local authorities and primary care services. This would fall outside the current remit of Social Security Scotland. However, the Scottish Government, and Social Security Scotland, have committed to providing people with referrals to independent advice providers and other organisations, where their assistance will improve the person’s financial circumstances or wellbeing.

I have therefore established a multi-disciplinary project team, working groups and a steering group, to explore options to develop robust signposting and referral arrangements in and out of Social Security Scotland. This will involve engagement with a wide range of officials across the Scottish Government and our stakeholder networks to ensure people’s needs are met. As part of this work, we intend to consult on a draft position paper on signposting, referrals and automation early in the new year as well as pilot approaches with key partners in 2023.

Maximising the take-up of benefits is a fundamental priority for the Scottish Government. Therefore, the initial focus of the project will be to develop policy and solutions which target income maximisation and benefit take-up, making it as easy as possible for people to access benefits, as well as maximising the support they are entitled to. However, as we evaluate progress and use lessons learnt from the initial pilots, we will explore how to apply this learning to referrals more broadly. I will consider the possibility of tailoring take-up approaches to specific groups, including older people.

Recommendation 6: Social Security Scotland should ensure there is clear information about rights and entitlements to other social security payments and services included in their communications on Pension Age Disability Payment.

I accept this recommendation in full.

As part of the development of Pension Age Disability Payment I am committed to exploring all options to reduce any barriers people may face in accessing the support they are entitled to. Social Security Scotland's Local Delivery staff will provide people with one-to-one support and help them understand what devolved benefits they may be entitled to. Client Advisors will be trained to support people with signposting to their local authority, the Scottish Government website and independent advice providers to find out what further entitlements they may have.

The Scottish Government launched the Social Security Independent Advocacy Service in January 2022 and has committed to investing £20.4 million in the service over the next four years. The service is free and supports people who self-identify as a disabled person to access and apply for Social Security Scotland assistance. The service is independent of the Scottish Government and is delivered by VoiceAbility, a charity with 40 years’ experience of delivering independent advocacy services. Advocates from VoiceAbility can support people to have their voices heard, understand and secure their rights under the Scottish social security system, express their wishes and be fully involved in order to make informed decisions.

Social Security Scotland has also delivered twelve marketing campaigns across a range of channels, including television, radio, print, online and digital advertising to raise awareness of our benefits and encourage people to apply. Communication and marketing activity is evidence-based, drawing on insight from market research, user research, stakeholder engagement and evaluation of ongoing campaigns. This will inform our communication and marketing of Pension Age Disability Payment.

Recommendation 7: The Government should further consider the need for tailored support for individuals in mutually supportive caring roles.

I partially accept this recommendation.

I recognise that there are a number of situations in which people receiving disability benefits may need to apply for support for a caring role, or where people receiving carer benefits may need to apply for disability assistance. I am therefore committed to ensuring that people are able to receive all of the support they are entitled to. We will ensure it is clear, in information and guidance for people and advisors, that receipt of disability assistance should not in itself prevent an individual from receiving support for a caring role. Similarly, we will ensure clarity that individuals providing care may also require support from disability benefits.

In relation to pension age carers, the interaction between State Pension and Scottish Carer's Assistance was considered as part of the Multi Criteria Analysis carried out ahead of the Scottish Carer's Assistance consultation. This informed the proposals set out in the consultation itself. As highlighted in the consultation, we found that while extending Scottish Carer's Assistance to carers in receipt of State Pension would have a positive impact, in terms of recognising the contribution of these carers, it would require significant investment which wouldn't be targeted at carers on the lowest incomes. This would leave out other groups of carers currently unable to receive Carer's Allowance as a result.

As the Group notes, the consultation suggested that an alternative approach could be to consider a payment for long-term carers, which could support many older carers, and recognise the financial impact of long-term care. We are considering the responses to the consultation on this point and can provide a more detailed update on this to the Group once considered fully.

In delivering Scottish Carer's Assistance we are also committed to helping carers find out more about wider support and services they could benefit from. This includes those carers who may apply for, but only have ‘underlying entitlement’ to, the benefit because they are receiving a State Pension, or carers who move into ‘underlying entitlement’ during a Scottish Carer's Assistance award. We will continue to involve carers and stakeholder organisations in designing and promoting Scottish Carer’s Assistance.

Qualifying period

Recommendation 8: Further consideration should be given to the policy rationale for requiring a 6 month qualifying period including the length of the period and whether change should be made to this from the point of national launch. We recommend the qualifying period for Pension Age Disability Payment should be brought in line with the other disability benefits.

I do not accept this recommendation.

The need for a person to have had a condition or disability for six months ensures that this form of assistance is targeted at those with longer-term conditions and disabilities. Removal of the six month qualifying period would lead to people with very short-term conditions becoming eligible, substantively changing both the nature and purpose of Pension Age Disability Payment.

In February 2019, we set out that reducing the qualifying period from six months to three months was estimated to cost an additional £21 million annually. The Scottish Government would have to find this additional funding from the fixed Scottish Budget as the cost of delivering this change would be in excess of the funding we receive through the Attendance Allowance Block Grant Adjustment.

Further to this, if we alter the qualifying period for Pension Age Disability Payment there is a risk that the Department for Work and Pensions would recognise this as a significant departure from the existing eligibility criteria for Attendance Allowance. An alternative to the current “passporting” arrangements for reserved benefits and premiums would have to be identified for those receiving Pension Age Disability Payment to allow for entitlements to be in payment once the individual has met the qualifying period for Attendance Allowance.

I welcome the affirmed commitment from the former Minister for Disabled People, the Rt Hon Chloe Smith MP, when giving evidence to the Social Justice and Social Security Committee in March 2022, to ensure that the Department for Work and Pensions will continue to find ways to ensure disabled people receive passported benefits, should the eligibility criteria for devolved benefits depart significantly from their reserved counterparts. However, this could still require significant resources to undertake and further discussions with the Department for Work and Pensions would be required to explore practical solutions. This also risks creating a two-tier system in which people with an award from Social Security Scotland could be entitled to different passported benefits from those whose awards haven’t yet transferred to Social Security Scotland.

Additionally, although people will be required to have had a condition or disability for six months before receiving Pension Age Disability Payment, unlike Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment, there will be no qualifying period expecting a person’s condition to last for a specified time period into the future. As with Attendance Allowance, the rationale for this decision is that the number of people who have stopped receiving their award because their condition improves is negligible and is largely attributed to the requirement for a six month initial qualifying period.

Award duration

Recommendation 9: We recommend that indefinite awards of Pension Age Disability Payment are available and regularly awarded to those who receive the highest rate, reflecting the longer-term nature of disability among this age group.

I accept this recommendation in principle.

As with Adult Disability Payment, when progressing policy development work on Pension Age Disability Payment, we will consider in more detail whether and in what circumstances indefinite awards should be made available to people in receipt of Pension Age Disability Payment.

Recommendation 10: Claims for people who have been awarded the lower rate of Pension Age Disability Payment should be regularly reviewed to assess if their needs have changed. This should be balanced with psychological impacts and should be truly light-touch, requiring very little from the person claiming. There should also be a simple mechanism for individuals or their families to seek a review where circumstances change.

I accept this recommendation.

I know that people with an award under the current system find the process of review stressful and many people have told us that they are reviewed unnecessarily. We have taken a different approach to the award review framework across all our new disability benefits to ensure that people’s awards are not reviewed unnecessarily. When a Case Manager makes a determination to award Pension Age Disability Payment, they will set a review date based on when they think a person’s needs will change. Such reviews will be light-touch and designed to minimise stress and anxiety for disabled people. We will tailor reviews for each person to ensure that they are appropriate to their needs, take account of their preferences and deliver the correct determination for each disabled person.

For people whose condition is unlikely to change, Case Managers will set a review date between five and ten years from the date of decision. As with our intention to have an inclusive range of application channels, people receiving Pension Age Disability Payment will also be able to report a change of circumstances online, by phone or by requesting or printing a paper form. This will allow people to seek a review when they feel there has been a change of circumstances that may impact upon their award.

Alternative accommodation

Recommendation 11: The eligibility rules for those who are in alternative accommodation - including their impact on Carer’s Allowance - should be closely examined. Consideration should be given to a more flexible context-specific rule that better takes into account the individual’s circumstances. We would recommend the removal of the 28-day rule for non-permanent arrangements.

I partially accept this recommendation.

The intention of Pension Age Disability Payment is to provide financial assistance to mitigate the costs that people have as a result of their health condition or disability. Continuing to pay Pension Age Disability Payment, where an individual’s care needs are being met in full within a public institution, for instance in a care home or during a long-term hospital stay, would lead to a duplication in public expenditure. The purpose of the “28-day rule” is therefore to ensure that an individual maintains their award for Pension Age Disability Payment however, their payments would be set to £0 whilst their needs are being met within a public institution to avoid duplication of public expenditure.

When Scottish Carer's Assistance first launches, it will largely mirror Carer’s Allowance. This is to ensure a safe and secure transfer of benefits for people already receiving Carer’s Allowance in Scotland. However, it also avoids a two-tier system where people receiving the new Scottish Carer's Assistance are treated differently for a period. When a cared for person is in hospital, Scottish Carer's Assistance payments would stop when the qualifying disability benefit stops. However, as set out in the consultation, our intention is that payments would be set to £0 so that the overall award would not end and could be reinstated sooner when the person being cared for leaves hospital.

Our Scottish Carer's Assistance consultation also set out a number of proposals for changes which could be made to Scottish Carer's Assistance eligibility and rules in future, when the case transfer process is complete. This included consideration of an extension of support for carers when a cared for person is in hospital. We are considering the responses to this consultation at present and will take into account the particular issue raised here around non-permanent stays in hospital. I will provide a more detailed update to the Group on Scottish Carer's Assistance policy once our consideration of the consultation responses is complete.

Equality impact assessment and human rights

Recommendation 12: Robust Equalities and Human Rights impact assessments should be completed in the early stages of Pension Age Disability Payment policy development.

I accept this recommendation.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring human rights and equalities considerations inform the development of all disability benefits policy. We recognise that social security is a human right and, our principles of dignity, fairness and respect are at the forefront of everything we do. We are therefore committed to completing robust impact assessments throughout the policy and regulatory developments of Pension Age Disability Payment.

Conclusion

I trust you find these responses helpful. My officials would be happy to further engage with the Group on any of the issues discussed. Once again, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for this contribution to further developing a social security system that delivers with dignity, fairness and respect.

Best regards,
Ben MacPherson