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Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill and Options for Second Tier Review

Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill and Options for Second Tier Review. Outline of the Bill. Outlines the purpose of the Fund.   Places a duty on LAs to deliver an SWF in line with regulations and any supplementary statutory guidance.

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Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill and Options for Second Tier Review

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  1. Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill and Options for Second Tier Review

  2. Outline of the Bill • Outlines the purpose of the Fund.   • Places a duty on LAs to deliver an SWF in line with regulations and any supplementary statutory guidance. • makes outline provision for the review of disputed cases. • Outlines requirements for reporting • Allows SG to provide funding – may or may not be ring fenced.

  3. Permanent Arrangements – Aspects not open to change • Delivery by Local Government • Grants not loans • Discretionary budget-limited scheme - prioritising applications according to need • Provision of goods as well as grants

  4. Review – Purpose and Characteristics Characteristics of First and Second Tier Review • Transparency, fairness and accessibility • Timeliness, recognising the circumstances of the applicant • High quality, impartial, free to use and independent • Quick to operate, making sound and accurate decisions • Effective communication • Proportionate and cost effective Purpose of Second Tier Review • To ensure that the correct decisions are being made and that the guidance for the Fund is being followed. • To identify whether the SWF guidance and local policy is being consistently applied and feed back to LAs where it is not. • To identify where the SWF guidance is having unintended consequences so that these can be rectified. • To give confidence to the applicant that the SWF is subject to impartial scrutiny and add credibility to the Fund as a whole.

  5. Current Review Arrangements • Developed in a tight timeframe and with no additional funding • Not possible to replicate Social Fund Arrangements. • Collaborative approach with stakeholders and experts • Not independent but steps taken to make panels impartial • Lessons learned

  6. Designing Review – Balancing Priorities Advantages of local arrangements vs Advantages of independence Designing a proportionate approach vs Achieving all the objectives of review

  7. 3 Options: • A panel based in Local Government, with mandatory independent membership • Scrutiny of decisions by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, with or without additional powers • A tribunal, administratively supported by the Scottish Tribunal Service.

  8. Points for Consultation • Does the Draft Bill cover the right ground? • Which aspects of the SWF framework should be in regulations? • Have we identified the right purpose and characteristics of review? • What sort of issues are most likely to present at second tier review? • Which, of the three options, is the best arrangement for undertaking second tier review.

  9. How to Respond to the Consultation • Responses by 7 February 2014 • Use the Respondent Information Form and send to: SWFDraftBill-consultation@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Or, in hard copy to the SWF Team – address in the consultation paper.

  10. Questions?

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