Meeting of the Parliament 19 August 2014
I am happy to give the undertaking that we will look into how best we can involve the Parliament in that process, not least because the Local Government and Regeneration Committee made a suggestion about trying to simplify things. We will consider how best we can consult the committee and others.
The bill should not be seen in isolation. It complements a number of reforms that have been made to the scheme over recent years with the aim of providing a parking concession that enables disabled people who could not otherwise do so to have access to the day-to-day things that most people take for granted, such as healthcare, work and social activities.
The Scottish Government is continuing with that intention through the way in which it has been tackling the impact of the UK Government’s welfare reform programme. I will give some detail about that because, although the issue has not been raised to a huge extent so far, it provides the context for the proposed changes, and the time that we have available provides us with a chance to examine it further.
It is clear that the UK Government’s changes to the welfare system—including, crucially, the change from disability living allowance to the personal independence payment—are causing significant anxiety and distress to people in Scotland. I have had members from all round the chamber write to me about individual cases to do with blue badges over recent months.
It is completely unacceptable that some of the most vulnerable in our society are not getting the support that they need. However, our work has gone far beyond the steps that have been taken to protect blue badge holders in England and Wales. Of course, we believe that the best solution is for the Scottish Parliament to have control over welfare matters.
Last year, in establishing arrangements to allow those who receive the personal independence payment to passport automatically to the scheme, we recognised the potential impact of the decision to tighten the threshold that must be passed in order to receive the highest rate of PIP. That is why the passporting arrangements for PIP extend to those who receive the standard rate at 8 points or more for the “moving around” activity. That measure, which was taken by the Scottish Government, ensured that the passporting arrangements for PIP and disability living allowance were as equivalent as possible.
Obviously, we continue to monitor other proposed changes. We have also taken further action to mitigate the potential effects of PIP by including two further eligibility criteria to cover those people who passported under DLA but who do not receive PIP at a rate that enables them to passport following reassessment for the new welfare benefit.