May. 10 2024

Found: They need a system that can respond quickly in recognising work related illness and disease in th e

Mentions:
1: None we welcome the change around the reduction of the past presence test as well as the changes around terminal - Speech Link
2: None number of people who need to make a claim because of needs arising from an acute or sudden onset of illness - Speech Link

May. 08 2024

Found: It was noted that costs can be particularly high when caring for someone with a terminal illness.  

S6W-26935

Asked by: Whitham, Elena (Scottish National Party - Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to address any long waiting times for applications to Social Security Scotland, in light of reports that nine children have died while waiting for an application for the Child Disability Payment to be processed.

Answered by Somerville, Shirley-Anne - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice

Our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who sadly died before a decision could be made on their application.

We know some people waited an unacceptably long time for Child Disability Payment and urgent action was taken to address this resulting in improved processing times.

We aim to process all applications as quickly as possible and have an accelerated application process for people who have a terminal illness diagnoses. We urge anyone who is applying on behalf of a terminally ill child or young person to use this dedicated route and ensure their application is given utmost priority.

While we cannot comment on individual cases, there are a number of factors that impact on how long it takes to make a decision including the time taken to gather information to support an application from a professional such as teachers or health care practitioners. This can take time – but under the DWP, people had to do this themselves – and we know people greatly value this service.

S6W-26934

Asked by: Whitham, Elena (Scottish National Party - Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley)

Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason Social Security Scotland staff reportedly do not work to timelines or key performance indicators, and what its position is on whether key performance indicators would help to improve the organisation’s efficiency.

Answered by Somerville, Shirley-Anne - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice

Social Security Scotland is focused on making the right decision first time, whilst aiming to process all applications as quickly as possible.

Our Charter sets out a range of standards for our performance and each year we publish the Charter Measurement Framework to share how we are delivering against our Charter commitments. As part of this research, we invite feedback from our clients and stakeholders on our performance, through our annual client survey.

In addition, we have committed to processing Funeral Support Payment applications within 10 working days of receipt of a completed applications and to process Special Rules for Terminal Illness disability payment applications within seven working days.

All colleagues have agreed work objectives which are reviewed as part of our performance management process and are further supported to perform effectively through learning and development programmes. We also use system data and internal management information to promote continuous improvement.

We have for example taken extensive action to drive down processing times and have seen significant improvements. Latest published figures show that average processing times for Adult Disability Payment have fallen by almost 40%.

Correspondence May. 01 2024

Found: when introducing PADP , including the introduction of short -term assistance and a new definition of terminal