Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Regulations 2016. Since April 2013, the Scottish welfare fund has provided a safety net to some of the most vulnerable people in our society by helping around 178,000 low-income households, including 59,000 families with children. In the face of continued austerity imposed by the United Kingdom Government, the fund acts as a lifeline for communities across Scotland; it helps people in some desperate situations to buy everyday things such as food, clothes and beds and keeps families afloat at difficult times.
Not only does the fund meet a real need, but it signals the Scottish Government’s commitment to creating a social security system that treats individuals with dignity and respect. The recent report by the Scottish Government’s independent adviser on poverty highlights the Scottish welfare fund as providing critical practical support with a more person-centred and holistic approach than equivalents elsewhere. Developed in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and with the support of the third sector, the fund is an excellent example of collaborative working. That is also evident from the supportive remarks made by the organisations that have given evidence to the committee.
The determination to do things differently resulted in Scotland’s first substantive example of social security legislation. The Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act 2015 places a statutory responsibility on each local authority to maintain a welfare fund and establishes a new, independent review process. Importantly, it requires those who deliver the scheme to treat applicants with dignity and respect. That sends a clear message about the kind of social security system that we seek to create, which is very much one that is centred on the individual.
Almost half the £81 million that has been spent to date has gone to communities in the 20 per cent most deprived areas of Scotland. The Scottish welfare fund is an example of action already taken in Scotland that provides a firm basis for tackling poverty effectively. The regulations will help to secure that by underpinning the act, which will make the scheme permanent and statutory.
It has always been our intention to set out the rules for the fund’s operation through regulations and statutory guidance. Although the regulations may be the last legislative piece of the jigsaw, the fund and its statutory guidance will be subject to on-going review and scrutiny.
We intend to review the guidance annually and to take account of feedback from local authorities and third sector stakeholders and any points that the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman has identified. I welcome the committee’s on-going interest in the fund and I am happy to answer questions on it.