A SCOTTISH minister has said the so-called "respect agenda" between Holyrood and Westminster "is not working" as she criticised the UK Government for not consulting her on major changes to the benefits system.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told The National the UK Government has not provided any answers to how Scots will be able to access the health element of Universal Credit going forward, with the eligibility assessment set to change.
The Work Capability Assessment is set to be binned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and instead people will be assessed for the health element of Universal Credit via the Personal Independence Payments (PIP) system from 2028/29 onwards.
PIP will soon not exist in Scotland with the devolved Adult Disability Payment (ADP) set to fully replace it.
Somerville said despite knowing for years this was a change that could come in, the UK Government has never provided clarity on how this system would work in Scotland.
People get access to the health element of Universal Credit if they can't work because of sickness or disability.
Keir Starmer said he would seek an "immediate reset" of the relationship between Westminster and Holyrood when he became Prime Minister, and First Minister John Swinney has spoken of how matters have improved between the two parties following 14 years of Tory-rule.
But Somerville (below) said the lack of consultation from the UK Government on this major change to the benefit system showed this "respect agenda" was not evident in this case.
"I would have hoped that with the way we were wanting to work with the new UK Government that they would have been able to consult us on issues where it impacts Scotland and they would be able to give those reassurances, not after the fact but when these announcements are being made.
"The fact they haven’t shows the respect agenda is not working in this case.
"This is not a consequence they were not aware of and they have chosen, for whatever reason, not to consult us in advance and not to tell us on the day whether they made a decision about this or not."
Somerville has argued Scots should be able to access the health element of Universal Credit through the ADP system, which she described as "robust" and "more humane" than the DWP benefits system.
However, she has been left in a position where she does not know if that will be possible because of the alleged lack of communication from Westminster.
"We have an exceptionally robust system up here for ADP," she said.
"It’s different, it’s more humane, and I make no apologies for that, but it’s still a robust system. So there is no reason that the assessment for ADP cannot be used by the DWP.
"The disappointing aspect is even though they know this has major implications for people and has got people very concerned, there was no prior consultation to us on this issue and nor have we been reassured at this point that ADP will be accepted.
"So we are left in a position where we still do not know what the UK Government’s view is on whether ADP will be accepted by them or not.
"I have asked for those reassurances previous to the announcement and have never been given a direct answer and it is now imperative that I do get a direct answer to this, so I can reassure people about it."
The DWP has been approached for comment.
