Draft Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) (Consequential Modifications) Order 2025
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Kirsty McNeill)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) (Consequential Modifications) Order 2025.
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Hobhouse. This order, laid on 13 January, is the result of collaborative working between the two Governments of Scotland. It supports the Scottish Government’s decision to introduce the Scottish adult disability living allowance in Scotland next month.
The Scotland Act 2016 devolved significant powers, including responsibility for certain social security benefits and employment support, to the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government’s introduction of Scottish adult disability living allowance under section 31 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 exercises that responsibility. Through their executive agency, Social Security Scotland, the Scottish Government will administer the new benefit in Scotland. At introduction, the Scottish adult disability living allowance will operate on broadly the same terms as the disability living allowance that it replaces.
It is the intention of the UK Government that individuals in receipt of Scottish adult disability living allowance should also receive the same treatments in the reserved social security and tax systems as those on disability living allowance, the Scottish recipients of which will transfer from the Department for Work and Pensions to Social Security Scotland.
The order before us today is made under section 104 of the Scotland Act 1998, which allows for necessary amendments to legislation in consequence of any provision made by or under any Act of the Scottish Parliament. It is therefore the appropriate vehicle for making these technical but important changes to recognise Scottish adult disability living allowance in reserved systems. Scotland Act orders are a demonstration of devolution in action; I am pleased to say that the Scotland Office has taken through over 250 orders since devolution began.
I now turn to the effect that the order will have and the provisions that it will make. The order makes amendments to UK legislation to ensure that Scottish adult disability living allowance is recognised as a qualifying benefit in the same way as disability living allowance is within the reserved social security system with regard to entitlements to additional reserved UK Government benefits and premiums. Those include the Christmas bonus and carer’s allowance. That means that recipients of Scottish adult disability living allowance will be entitled to receive the annual £10 Christmas bonus payment, if it has not already been paid via another benefit. Should all other eligibility criteria be met, it will also ensure that reserved carer’s allowance can be paid to someone caring for someone in receipt of Scottish adult disability living allowance.
The order also prevents dual entitlement to benefits paid because of the same needs: individuals entitled to Scottish adult disability living allowance cannot be entitled to attendance allowance, disability living allowance or the personal independence payment. In the same way, the disability living allowance and personal independence payment are not payable to people in receipt of attendance allowance. The order also amends the taxation of trusts with disabled beneficiaries to treat those with beneficiaries in receipt of Scottish adult disability living allowance in the same way as those with beneficiaries who receive disability living allowance. Without the order, people in Scotland on Scottish adult disability living allowance would not receive the equivalent tax treatments and entitlements to reserved premia and additions as individuals in receipt of disability living allowance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Scotland Office, the Department for Work and Pensions, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive have worked closely together to ensure that this order can be made, clearly demonstrating cross-Government support for the order.
The Chair
The question is that the Committee has considered the draft Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) (Consequential Modifications) Order 2025. I call the shadow Minister.
Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)
Thank you, Ms Hobhouse—today’s SI has a pithy title. I am grateful to the Minister for her remarks.
Today should serve as a salutary lesson for the new Government about the law of unintended consequences. In 2014, following the referendum on separation, the Smith commission was convened by the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, resulting in a host of recommendations to increase the power and responsibility of the Scottish Parliament. One of the powers devolved through that process was the ability to deliver elements of social security in Scotland. The devolution of certain powers by the Scotland Act 2016 was eminently sensible.
On income tax, for example, although I passionately believe that it is not in the interests of the Scottish people, businesses or the wider economy to have more tax bands and higher tax rates than the rest of the UK, it is an eminently sensible and, indeed, Conservative belief that those responsible for spending public money should also be responsible for raising it. I just wish that Scotland would blaze a trail by being the lowest taxed part of the United Kingdom—I think of the investment and the economic benefits that would be reaped.
We are gathered here this afternoon to discuss the devolution of certain elements of social security, and thereby the increased complexity of how these benefits are delivered to the people of Scotland and how they interact with other benefits and other delivery bodies across the UK. With hindsight, I wonder whether this was a positive move for Scotland and, indeed, the UK.
Broadly speaking, this is a sensible and technical statutory instrument that has our support. Clearly, those who are entitled to Scottish adult disability living allowance should not also be entitled to the UK Government’s disability living allowance, attendance allowance or personal independence payment. The fact we have to take the time and effort to legislate to make sure that is the case is plainly absurd.
The explanatory notes set out plainly that we are also legislating to ensure that those receiving Scottish adult disability living allowance retain access to the same treatment as those on disability living allowance:
“while Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance operates in a broadly similar way to Disability Living Allowance, it should interact with reserved social security benefits in the same way as Disability Living Allowance.”
Of course, it should. But that statement never needed to be made, that explanation was not required and this legislation was not needed before the creation of an entirely separate operation to deliver what is, in effect, the exact same benefit. We have created additional barriers, burdens and borders where there were none before, and we have added no benefit whatsoever for those receiving benefit payments either north or south of the border. It has cost more than £650 million to establish Social Security Scotland, which is years late, has resulted in duplication and has added cost and complexity to the process.
The Smith commission, the Scotland Act 2016 and Social Security Scotland were all established, convened, reported and legislated for before any of us on this Committee were elected to this place. They are now a fact, but a lesson must be learned by the Labour Government. Just as many Labour members believed in 1997 that devolution would kill nationalism stone dead, too many UK politicians of all parties—my own included—believe that giving ever more to the Scottish Government will appease the SNP’s desire to break away. Far too often, far too little thought has been given to the impact of devolution on the specific policies or functions on which people rely. Is the complex, expensive, duplicative and bureaucratic quagmire of Social Security Scotland after the 2016 Act really to the benefit of those in receipt of benefits?
We must ensure that we do not have devolution for devolution’s sake. What must be decided is whether the devolution of a certain power or powers to the Scottish Parliament will or will not have a beneficial impact on the lives of the people and businesses of Scotland. If the answer is no, the answer must be no.
I have some practical questions for the Minister about the implementation. Social Security Scotland and the Department for Work and Pensions will need a very sophisticated operating system to ensure that the provisions of this draft order become a reality. Is the Minister confident that the systems are in place to accurately determine who is in scope and to avoid the duplication that this SI seeks to avoid? Given the cost and delays to Social Security Scotland—the IT systems have already cost more than £220 million—does the Minister have any indication of the cost of ensuring that the system is able to cope? On the other side of the coin, will the system be sufficiently agile to ensure that complex situations do not result in people being denied the payments to which they are entitled?
Likewise, in relation to Northern Ireland, article 5(3) may be quite complicated to administer. What work has the Minister undertaken with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure a properly joined-up system across these islands? Although there has not been a formal consultation on the changes made by this draft order, will she update the Committee on whether she has consulted informally? Is she working with the Scottish Government on an information campaign to ensure that those affected are aware of the changes?
Finally, it is possible that the Scottish and UK rates could diverge over time, with one becoming higher or lower than the other. Has the Minister assessed what this would mean for broader eligibility for UK Government benefits or, indeed, for people living on either side of the border? I note that the draft order will need to be reviewed should there be changes to the Scottish adult disability living allowance or the reserved legislation. Can the Minister outline what circumstances would bring this about?
On a broader point, the devolution of welfare is not straightforward. It may well become much more complex over time as the systems diverge. Why we devolved welfare in the first place remains a complete mystery to me, but I would appreciate answers to my substantive questions.
Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Hobhouse. I intend to speak very briefly because, although I do not disagree with some of the comments made by the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, it was agreed some time ago that this order should happen. While we may have reservations about how it could develop, we have to recognise the achievement of our two Governments in reaching agreement on introducing this new Scottish benefit. Historically it is something for which Liberal Democrats have advocated, because we believe in policies that promote social equality and support for individuals with disabilities.
This order ensures a smooth transition from DLA to SADLA, maintains the entitlements and legal protections for recipients in Scotland at its heart, and aligns Scottish disability assistance with the social security system, separate from UK-wide benefits like the personal independence payment. If we believe in devolution and that decisions should be made at the point at which they are closest and most relevant to the community, then this is a move forward and it is something we should welcome and support.
Graham Leadbitter (Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey) (SNP)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Hobhouse. We fully support this order to support the ongoing work of Social Security Scotland and the Scottish Government.
I was not planning to speak for long, but the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, has opened a few doors for me so I might as well take them. Although Scotland may be the highest taxed part of the UK overall, 51% of its workforce pay less tax than they would in the rest of the UK. It is simply a more progressive system than the rest of the UK.
The Scottish social security system is based on dignity and respect. Many Government Members, and some Opposition Members, will probably welcome that. The UK social security system is incredibly complex—benefit advisers and experts within the system struggle to navigate their way around, never mind the claimants. With this order, there is an opportunity to simplify how people apply for benefits from Social Security Scotland, especially if they have conditions that are not going to improve. People who move on to this benefit in Scotland have the opportunity potentially to apply for the Scottish adult disability payment rather than Scottish adult disability living allowance. That is a choice for the individual, but people have that opportunity and there is dignity and respect at the heart of the process—something that needs to progress much further in the social security system.
My final point is that there is one way to resolve the complexity that the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, mentioned: to devolve all the powers of the UK Government to Scotland. I reserve the right to continue to campaign for that circumstance.
Kirsty McNeill
I thank all hon. Members who contributed today. The hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine noted that the order is a broadly sensible technical change. He intimated that he is slightly worried about the time and effort that it takes to go through these processes. However, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, we have passed 250 of these orders at great pace, largely thanks to the sterling work of officials in both Governments; I put on the record my thanks to them.
The shadow Minister suggested that Labour’s enthusiasm for devolution was perhaps in the service of another political objective. I want to put his mind at rest: it is entirely about bringing decision makers closer to the people of Scotland—something to which the Government remain entirely committed.
The hon. Gentleman asked whether we were confident about the implementation plan. The answer is yes, because of the smooth working that there will be between both Governments. He also asked about the promotion of the benefit. That is a matter for the Scottish Government, but we will be speaking to them about that. He asked about provision in Northern Ireland. Equivalent provision is being made in respect of Scottish adult DLA to prevent dual entitlement to Northern Irish social security benefits, as agreed under the previous Government.
I thank the hon. Member for Edinburgh West for her support for this practical and timely change. I also thank the hon. Member for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey for his support for this technical change, although perhaps not for his other advice to the Government, which I assure him we will not be taking.
This statutory instrument demonstrates the UK Government’s continued commitment to working with the Scottish Government to deliver for Scotland.
Question put and agreed to.