Thank you, convener. Good morning, committee. I am very pleased to be here as the first DWP secretary of state to appear formally before a Scottish Parliament committee. I also thank you for the welcome to my officials Richard Cornish and Denise Horsfall.
It is an interesting time. The Scottish Government is at the start of its journey in developing and delivering social security in Scotland. The Parliament, too, will assume a new and distinctively different role in scrutinising the Scottish Government’s choices and decisions in this area. This is a unique moment in devolution and the transition of powers from Westminster to Scotland. I know that officials have been working well together in the process so far, and I look forward to that relationship continuing.
It is also a personal pleasure to be back in Scotland so soon after my most recent visit, when I saw great work being done by a number of voluntary organisations. I visited KibbleWorks in Paisley, where young people who face barriers to employment are helped to experience the benefits to wellbeing and confidence that having a job brings, which is central to the purpose of the Government’s welfare policy. I also listened to the views of a number of organisations on the front line about how my department can continue to develop and improve its work, because there is always room for improvement. Another minister in the department, the Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work, recently had the opportunity to be part of Scotland’s hosting of the Rehabilitation International world congress, and I know that she visited a number of organisations at the same time.
We are at an important juncture for the delivery of welfare in Scotland. We are implementing the further devolution of powers that all parties agreed for Scotland in the Smith commission agreement. In July, we commenced 11 of the 13 welfare sections in the Scotland Act 2016, which included provisions in respect of creating new benefits, topping up reserved benefits, discretionary housing payments, universal credit flexibilities and employment support. The majority of those provisions are already in force—they came into force from 5 September this year—and the DHPs will come into force from April of next year. As I am sure that the committee is aware, at the request of Scottish Government ministers, we recently agreed to explore a unique split competence approach to the commencement of the remaining welfare sections of the Scotland Act 2016, which cover disability living allowance, personal independence payment and carers allowance. We remain committed to transferring those powers as soon as it is practicable and, very importantly, as soon as it is safe to do so for claimants.
The powers that are being transferred are unprecedented in their scope. Until recently, virtually all welfare provision was legislated on and designed centrally. We now face a completely different landscape, in which both Governments will deliver benefits in Scotland. The Scotland Act 2016 makes this Parliament one of the most powerful devolved legislatures in the world and makes the Scottish Government directly accountable to its citizens in those areas that are being devolved. I am sure that that means an increased role for this committee in reviewing how the Scottish Government takes forward those powers because, as anyone exercising ministerial office knows, with power comes great scrutiny—and so it should.
Now that the Scottish Government’s consultation on how to do this has ended, I encourage it to set out its policy plans as soon as possible. I appreciate that this committee will play a significant role in scrutinising those plans.
As agreed in the fiscal framework that has been agreed by both Governments, funding for devolved welfare powers transfers at the point of devolution. Under the situation of split legislative and executive competence, which we will have for some of our benefits, funding for welfare benefits transfers to the Scottish Government along with the executive competence. Again, at that point, this committee will become even more of a key player.
The successful devolution of £2.7 billion-worth of welfare spending is a huge task. We all recognise that it will take the Scottish Government some time before it is in a position to deliver welfare programmes fully and I am fully committed to working with the Scottish Government at all levels to make sure that the implementation is effective, to ensure that all those who are touched by the changes have an awareness and understanding of them, and—perhaps most crucially—to deliver devolved welfare safely for those people in Scotland who rely on that support.
In that regard, I pay tribute to the hard work and determination of the thousands of DWP employees in Scotland who, day in and day out, provide support to those who need it. Their contribution is very significant and I am sure that committee members regularly visit their local jobcentres and will recognise that too.
It is incumbent on both Governments to manage the transfer of powers sensibly during the transitional period. There are clear accountabilities on both sides and the needs of citizens must be at the centre of the process.
I should also say a word about the UK Government’s approach to welfare while I am in front of the committee. In 2010, we inherited a broken system in which there were too few incentives to move from welfare to work and in which too many of our fellow citizens were simply taken off the books and forgotten about. That is what we have been trying to change. We have ensured that work always pays through reforms such as universal credit while ensuring that there is a strong safety net for those who cannot work. Spending on disabled people, for example, will be higher in every year of this Parliament than it was in 2010.
However, of course we need to continue to review and reform the system based on what we know works. That is why, earlier this week, I published, along with the Department of Health, “Improving Lives—The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper”, which is designed to improve how the welfare system responds to people with health conditions and covers the reform of the work capability assessment, statutory sick pay and fit notes.
I very much want to see employers step up and play their part in helping people with long-term health problems and disabilities get into work, so we have created a disability confident business leaders group.
On the health side, one of the big mindset changes that we need is to see work as, in the jargon, a beneficial health outcome; in other words, a good job is good for your health. There is overwhelming evidence of that, so we will be working with the various health bodies—I look forward to working with the health bodies in Scotland, too—to make the benefits of work an ingrained part of the health workforce approach and to see a culture of high ambition for disabled people in this country.
Clearly, delivering on the devolution settlement is a learning process for all of us. We share the ambition to maximise the opportunities that it can bring and to avoid any unintended consequences. It is vital to ensure that the new services and any existing services work effectively in tandem and that we try to avoid additional complexity and cost and a disjointed approach.
I look forward to the Scottish Government providing further clarity on its plans as soon as possible. We now have an opportunity to implement a new shared welfare landscape for Scotland that will continue to deliver in the best interests of Scotland while obtaining the benefits of the UK welfare system in transforming lives, giving people skills and opportunities to move into work and helping them to address the difficulties that they may face in their daily lives.