SCOTTISH ministers may stop private companies carrying out vital welfare assessments as Holyrood prepares to take charge of social security, it has emerged.
People with specific conditions may also be spared the tests under plans being considered by the Scottish Government.
Social Security Secretary Angela Constance yesterday said ministers are reluctant to allow companies to profit from assessing whether or not members of the public qualify for benefits.
Multi-national company Atos is currently contracted to carry out checks on personal independence payment (PIP) claimants in Scotland.
The benefit, which replaces the disability living allowance (DLA), helps meet the extra costs of living with a long-term health condition or disability.
Claimants have to undergo face-to-face consultations, with Atos staff scoring them on how much help they need, the results of which are fed back to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in order to set the level of payment, if any.
The maximum sum is £139.75 a week and eligibility is based on the ability to undertake a series of activities including eating and drinking, using the toilet, washing and communicating.
However, many face serious difficulties in simply reaching assessment centres and there have been repeated complaints about the system, with users saying they have been judged on their hairstyles and demeanour instead of their clinical conditions.
Yesterday, ministers emphasised their intention to create a more “humane” system where those with serious conditions are awarded automatic payments on diagnosis, sparing them the tests.
They also indicated that the forthcoming Scottish social security agency, which will be set up to handle the devolved benefits, may not work with private firms, instead gathering the required information on the health of applicants from their GPs or consultants.
Constance said: “We would have a great reticence about people who are motivated by profit being involved.”
Social Security Minister Jeane Freeman said some people were being treated “unfairly” by the current system, suggesting that the use of doctors’ files may mean applicants can avoid having to provide the same information time and time again to different people.
She said: “Medical evidence ought to be the foundation and the only place to get that is from a clinician.”
Discussing the role of the health service, she said: “How can we start there without making it unnecessarily complex and an additional piece of work? We need to talk that through with them.”
No decisions have yet been taken on the conditions that would entitle patients to an automatic payment, with ministers seeking opinions from the public in a 13-week consultation that opened yesterday.
The consultation also covers the question of who should carry out assessments, including potential third-sector involvement, and whether or not the agency should provide a mix of goods and money.
A location for the forthcoming agency has also to be determined, but ministers said efforts would be made to ensure any necessary tests are made as accessible as possible.
This may include the use of telehealth consultations, as used in remote and rural areas.
However, ministers cautioned that any changes made in Scotland must be compatible with UK Government practices, with many people in receipt of two or more payments.
The timetable will also be impacted by progress made by the DWP in continuing the delayed roll-out of universal credit, a single payment that replaces jobseeker’s allowance, working tax credits, child tax credits, housing benefit and income-related support allowance.
Pensions, child benefit and maternity and paternity pay will also remain reserved.
Constance said ministers are “ambitious” but “realistic” about the prospect for change, saying: “We can’t use 15 per cent to eradicate the unfairness of the remaining 85 per cent.
“The sanctions regime, for example, will not be devolved.”
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