Q&A with Shirley-Anne Somerville

Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People

1. Jeane Freeman won plaudits for her role in establishing the new Social Security system in Scotland, does stepping into her shoes feel daunting?

Jeane did a brilliant job as Minister for Social Security and she’ll be a fantastic Health Secretary. The Social Security Scotland Act is an important piece of legislation, placing on the very first page that social security is a human right and one that people should be able to access in a way that treats them with dignity and respect. That sends a powerful message about how we as a government view those in receipt of social security benefits and Jeane deserves enormous credit for that.

My focus is on continuing to build our social security system. Working with the Experience Panels we established, and other experts and stakeholders throughout, I want to ensure that, at all stages of interaction with Social Security Scotland – our new public agency – people will be treated with respect and dignity, because it’s built into the roots of all we do. For example, the act makes express provision for the development of a charter because we want to establish a strong link between the principles and the way that the system actually performs.

Now that the legislation is in place, the challenge is on delivering the new system, starting over the next year or so with the Carer’s Allowance Supplement, then the Best Start Grant, Funeral Expenses Assistance and Young Carer’s Grant. 

        2. What experience do you bring from your previous role as science and education minister that you will use in this role?

That people come first. That the service you receive and how you are treated really matters. In social security, we have stakeholders and we have customers and we are determined that the new agency will follow practices that treat those customers with respect and dignity. That is why the innovative Experience Panels are essential. Those panels, along with experts and stakeholders, are key to ensuring that at every stage and every step on this journey, we’re taking with us current or recent users of the system, to fully integrate real-life knowledge, experience and understanding, with the detailed process by which we will design, develop and implement our devolved social security powers.

Also, in common with education, this is a public service. It is a new service we are starting from scratch but I am well aware that it must deliver for 1.4 million people and is worth £3.3 billion in payments. People rely on these payments simply to get by so we must get it right. Unlike education, though, not all the powers in this area are devolved which means that we will find challenges achieving everything we want to achieve.   

3. Poverty, particularly child poverty, is still very high in Scotland. How confident are you that you can bring that down?

UK welfare cuts have caused long-term damage to the wellbeing of children and families. At the end of this decade, Scotland will be facing an annual cut of £4 billion in benefit support. Families, disabled people, and those trying to get back into work have all been hit as a direct consequence of UK Government policy. Universal Credit is a disaster and all the evidence shows people are being pushed into crisis and debt and towards food banks and emergency aid. All of this is showing why the UK Government needs to change course urgently and drastically. If they won’t, they must deliver the necessary powers and financial levers to Scotland so we can do things differently.

Scotland is the only UK country to have set bold targets in legislation to reduce, and ultimately eradicate, child poverty. Our Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, published in March, is the next step in helping meet those targets, and to ensure these projections don’t become a reality.

by Liam Kirkaldy

Communities, Housing & Planning

Analysis: When it comes to social security, ministers need to prove Scotland can do things differently

The actions in the delivery plan include the development of a new income supplement, providing financial support to families who need it most, and a £12 million employment support fund to help parents in work progress their careers and support unemployed parents into work. All of this is backed by a range of investment including our £50 million Tackling Child Poverty Fund. So, yes, I’m confident that we can make a difference even in the face of continuing cuts from the UK Government.

4. How do you think having a minister with specific responsibility for older people will change the lives of older people in Scotland?

Older people are an essential part of the vibrant country that we live in and contribute to, often in hidden ways such as by volunteering or caring, supporting their families and their wider communities, so as Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for older people, I really want to focus on the positive contribution that older people make to our society.

We live in an ageing society – over the next 20 years, more than 70 per cent of all population growth will be in the over-75 age group. And our working population is also ageing, with more employees now aged over 50, so it’s vital that we celebrate and value our older people, making sure they have the opportunity to lead the best life they can, feel respected and listened to. 

I’m looking forward to working with Christina McKelvie, Minister for Older People and Equalities, on those aims as well as the Older People’s Strategic Action Forum and those that champion older people’s rights.

I want to be informed directly by the voices of older people and to explore how we can develop solutions for the parts of older people’s lives that need to be improved, by ensuring a strategic approach that will address the negative perceptions that older people face and reduce barriers to positive ageing.

5. In some other European countries, social security is much more devolved and is handled mainly by councils. Is the Scottish Government missing an opportunity to devolve down power by creating a centralised national agency?

In 2016, the Scottish Government ran a major consultation exercise on what the future social security system should look like, with 84 per cent of respondents saying a new agency should deliver all social security benefits in Scotland.

Social Security Scotland, the new agency that will deliver Scotland’s benefits, will create at least 1,500 jobs in Dundee and Glasgow to carry out its central administrative functions. 

One of the key differences between the new agency and the existing system will be our local presence. Social Security Scotland will have a presence in every local authority area, with around 400 staff co-located in existing public and third sector services – all of which will make it easily accessible to local communities and anyone looking for face-to-face pre-claims advice information and support.

6. This new role has quite a lot of overlap with health and local government. How will you ensure decisions are integrated while they are all separate cabinet roles?

All ministers are well aware that we are one government and we are well used to working together collectively. We all know the importance of joining up decisions and actions to ensure we are delivering in a holistic manner and I think this comes through in the Programme for Government and the relevant measurements within the National Performance Framework. 

7. How will you improve the lives of disabled people in Scotland?

I believe that a fairer Scotland can only be realised when we secure equal rights for everyone. Effective solutions to the problems and barriers faced by disabled people must be drawn from the lived experience of disabled people. I am committed to working with disabled people to implement our delivery plan, ‘A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People’, which we are nearly two years into. I will work to ensure we continue to develop the best policies and approaches required to solve problems and dismantle barriers. I have high ambitions for the changes I want to see but disabled people have the right to no less.

Embedding equality in all aspects of the public sector’s work is vital to the Scottish Government’s ambition of a fairer Scotland. The public sector equality duty and the regulations that underpin it contribute to that ambition, and, along with Christina McKelvie, I’ve already started to look at ways the duty can be made even more effective.

We have also made clear from the outset that Scotland’s new social security system will mean no one is forced to have a private sector assessment for disability assessments and we will reduce the need for face-to-face assessments. This is part of our rights-based approach which ensures the principles of dignity, fairness and respect are at its heart and I think will make a big improvement to the lives of disabled people. Nobody should doubt the stress and anxiety associated with the DWP’s current system and repeated assessments for those with a disability. 

8. What’s the best piece of advice you ever got from an older person, like your granny?

’Be yourself.’ One of my favourite places when I was growing up was at my gran and grandad’s farm cottage in Angus. They never had much as they brought up their six kids, including my mum, or indeed into their old age but she gave us a belief in ourselves and our own abilities. I’d like to think she’d think I’ve followed that advice in my political career.