Question reference: S5W-33929
- Asked by: Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 9 December 2020
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 23 December 2020
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many advocacy providers have fulfilled requests to use, or referrals to, the interim social security advocacy service, and who these providers were.
Answer
No providers have fulfilled requests to use, or referrals to, the interim advocacy social security service.
The Coronavirus pandemic impacted on the rollout of disability benefits which led to the termination of the original tendering process for the comprehensive service. The interim advocacy service was introduced to ensure that there was a provision available for existing benefits, even although we anticipated the level of demand for the service would be low.