Draft Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Disability Assistance and Information- Sharing) (Consequential Provision and Modifications) Order 2022

Iain Stewart Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd March 2022 General Committees

[The Chair]

I remind Members to observe social distancing and to wear masks.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Iain Stewart)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Disability Assistance and Information-Sharing) (Consequential Provision and Modifications) Order 2022.

I am pleased to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Rees. This order is made under section 104 the Scotland Act 1998, which allows for a necessary legislative amendment in consequence of an Act of the Scottish Parliament. It will support the implementation of welfare powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament under the Scotland Act 2016.

The order amends legislation as a consequence of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament, and of regulations made under that Act. Through the 2018 Act, the Scottish Government can introduce new forms of disability assistance using the social security powers devolved under section 22 of the Scotland Act 2016. Section 31 of the 2018 Act allows the Scottish Government to provide financial assistance called “disability assistance” for people in Scotland with a disability. Disability assistance will replace three existing UK-wide payments that are currently delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions: disability living allowance, personal independence payments and attendance allowance.

Through their devolved powers, the Scottish Government are legislating for an adult disability payment to replace the personal independence payment, beginning with a pilot on 21 March. Applications will be accepted from individuals of between 16 years old and state pension age. At its introduction, adult disability payment will operate in broadly the same way and for broadly the same group of people as personal independence payment. The intention of the UK Government and the Scottish Government is that while there are individuals in Scotland who remain in receipt of either adult disability payment or personal independence payment, there is equitable treatment of the approximately 300,000 individuals whose personal independence payment awards will be transferred to adult disability payment.

In respect of the equivalent reserved benefit, the UK Government allow eligibility for a driving licence at the age of 16 rather than 17 and provide for an exemption or a 50% reduction in vehicle excise duty, a VAT zero rate for the leasing of vehicles to individuals under the Motability scheme and a VAT zero rate for the onward sale of vehicles previously let under that scheme. We also provide an exemption from insurance premium tax on the insurance that covers vehicles leased under the Motability scheme. The order extends those provisions to ensure that people on adult disability payment will benefit from those reliefs.

The order also extends the definition of “disabled person” in certain taxation legislation to include individuals who are in receipt of a qualifying rate of adult disability payment, thereby ensuring that people in receipt of adult disability payment will receive the same tax treatment as those who receive equivalent reserved benefits. That will apply to the early withdrawal of funds from a child trust fund or junior individual savings account if the young person is terminally ill, and to the tax treatment of property held in trust for the benefit of a disabled person.

The order ensures that the adult disability payment will act as a qualifying benefit for the Christmas bonus, carer’s credit and carer’s allowance in England and Wales. That will support the continued entitlement to those benefits of an individual in receipt of adult disability payment who has left Scotland and moved to another part of the UK. In that situation, the Scottish Government would continue to pay adult disability payment for a period of 13 weeks, to give the individual time to make an application for personal independence payment in England and Wales. Corresponding provisions for entitlement to carer’s allowance and carer’s credit have been included for Northern Ireland, should a new carer need to apply for support in respect of their caring responsibilities to the individual who is receipt of adult disability payment, for those 13 weeks only.

The order also makes changes to allow an individual who is entitled to adult disability payment to apply for a proxy vote at a UK parliamentary or local election or for a proxy signature for a recall petition without the need for their application to be attested. Similarly to the other provisions I have outlined, that will ensure that the system for disabled people in Scotland who receive a Scottish social security benefit operates in the same way as the system for a disabled person who is entitled to the equivalent corresponding reserved social security benefit. Those changes are not within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, so it falls to the UK Government to facilitate them through this order.

The order is a sensible and pragmatic move on the part of the UK Government in their commitment to make devolution work and reflects strong co-operation between the Scottish and UK Governments. I therefore commend the order to the Committee.

--- Later in debate ---

[Iain Stewart]

I am grateful to hon. Members for their contributions to the debate and particularly to the hon. Members for Edinburgh South and for Glasgow East for indicating their support for the measure. They and my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley all raised perfectly fair questions, which I will endeavour to answer.

The hon. Member for Edinburgh South asked about the transition process. Initially, there will be a pilot scheme for new claimants only in three parts of Scotland—Dundee, Perth and Kinross, and the Western Isles—before existing claimants are gradually transitioned over later in the year, so there will not be a cliff-edge or big-bang transition. I hope that will allay the hon. Member’s perfectly valid concerns about ensuring, as he rightly said, that the most vulnerable people in society are not disadvantaged.

It is very tempting at this hour of the morning to enter into a broader constitutional debate, but I am not sure my Whip would be particularly accommodating of that. In the same spirit, I will not rise to the bait of some of the points made by the hon. Member for Glasgow East. I am sure there will be plenty other occasions in the weeks, months, years and decades ahead—

[Ian Murray]

In the generations ahead.

[Iain Stewart]

Generations, indeed. I am sure we will return to these matters.

I should also say that such things are complex to transition, and we have been co-operating with the Scottish Government to ensure that it can happen in their desired timescale, with the pilots starting later this month. I also pay tribute to officials from both the DWP and the Scottish Government for doing the detailed preparatory work to ensure that this change can happen.

Finally, on the sensible questions from my hon. Friend the Member for Amber Valley, the situation does apply both ways. If a person in England claims PIP or one of the other benefits and moves to Scotland, the DWP would look to ensure that they had an equivalent transition period. The 13 weeks is a safety net, and applications can be made in advance. It is there to ensure that payments can continue if there is some delay, so that no one is disadvantaged.

On my hon. Friend’s further sensible point about whether the matter would need to be revisited if the Scottish Government chose to change the adult disability payment so that it did not capture broadly the same cohort as PIP, that is not the case at the moment. The definition of eligibility is very similar, and the quantum of payment is broadly similar. Until that diverges significantly—I have no crystal ball to see whether it will—the current carry-over remains sensible. Of course, we will always keep things under review to ensure we were not missing anyone out. I hope that reassures my hon. Friend.

This order is a sensible and pragmatic move on the UK Government’s part to make devolution work and reflects strong co-operation between the Scottish and UK Governments.

Question put and agreed to.