Committee
Social Justice and Social Security Committee 12 March 2026 [Draft]
12 Mar 2026 · S6 · Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Item of business
Adult Disability Payment
Erica Young
Watch on SPTV
Absolutely. So many people who are applying for the adult disability payment will have communication barriers or find it really difficult to articulate their circumstances in writing. When they step through the door of an advice agency such as ours, it is a humanising and non-judgmental experience; they can speak quite freely about the impact on their self-worth and self-respect, which makes it easier for an adviser to capture—they come at it from all angles. Being able to put free-flowing answers in would not only make it easier for the individual; it would enable advice agencies and support workers to help the person to get the most out of the form.
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
Welcome back. Our next item of business is our evidence session on the Scottish Government’s response to Edel Harris’s independent review of adult disability...
Craig Smith (Scottish Action for Mental Health)
First, thank you very much for inviting me to give evidence. Overall, although we welcome the fact that in response to the independent review the Government ...
The Convener
SNP
Would anyone else like to come in on that point?
Erica Young (Citizens Advice Scotland)
Following on from what Craig Smith has said, one of the first things that I want to point out is that Scotland has demonstrated the scope of its ambition for...
Frank McKillop (Enable)
I echo much of what Craig Smith and Erika Young have said. The review came in the context of the 2024 report of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of...
Keith Park (MS Society Scotland)
I agree with everything that my colleagues on the panel have said. The MS Society Scotland is disappointed with the response of the Scottish Government for m...
The Convener
SNP
That has definitely given us food for thought—the figures are quite stark. Thanks for that, Keith.Looking at the Scottish Government’s response to the theme ...
Erica Young
The overall view from the Citizens Advice Scotland network is that the people’s service recommendations that are being taken forward are already highly align...
The Convener
SNP
That was really helpful. Does anyone else want to come in?
Craig Smith
Very briefly. I just want to echo what Erica Young has said. We welcome the fact that the Government has accepted most of the recommendations in this part of...
The Convener
SNP
We have discussed the recommendations that have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented. There are also bigger asks, such as in relation ...
Erica Young
Do you mean the better future recommendations that have been put on hold?
The Convener
SNP
Yes.
Erica Young
The key thing here is that those recommendations reflect the evidence that reorientation of the ADP criteria better to reflect modern life and capture the so...
The Convener
SNP
Thanks very much.
Carol Mochan (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
The review suggested various additions to client communications, but the Government’s response emphasised the importance of clarity and simplicity. Do the wi...
Frank McKillop
We very much support the focus on simplicity, clarity and conciseness of information. Many of the people whom Enable has supported have said that they have b...
Carol Mochan
Lab
Having an easier flow of information might help many clients.You brought up a really important point about easy-to-read or easy-to-use guidance. Is there any...
Frank McKillop
I am not sure exactly where they get training. There are organisations that provide training. I would have to check whether Social Security Scotland is using...
Carol Mochan
Lab
It is something that we could look at as well.I do not know whether anyone else wants to come in.
Erica Young
I will come in briefly.Our focus tends to be on telephony. Social Security Scotland delivers 15 payments but has one switchboard line. Getting text messages ...
Carol Mochan
Lab
To be clear, are you saying that it is helpful for people to have free text boxes so that they can write in their own words about how they present?
Erica Young
Absolutely. So many people who are applying for the adult disability payment will have communication barriers or find it really difficult to articulate their...
Claire Baker
Lab
I will move on to theme 2, on processes that work. The Government accepted several recommendations but rejected others. The first of those rejected recommend...
Erica Young
I am happy to come in on that. The CAS network understands the Scottish Government’s position on that point, because there is a genuine risk that people migh...
Claire Baker
Lab
You recognise that there is a problem, but there is a solution that will lead to better decisions.There is a recommendation that there should be an opt-out, ...
Erica Young
We have seen a significant, three-fold, increase in the past year in the number of people seeking our advice about short-term assistance, but awareness and u...
Craig Smith
I absolutely agree with what Erica Young said. We believe that short-term assistance has been one of the really big positives of the development of the Scott...
Claire Baker
Lab
You are saying that short-term assistance could have an impact on the other benefits that a person receives.
Craig Smith
I echo Erica Young’s point that, because it is not a gateway to other payments, that must be clearly communicated to clients. Our position is that short-term...