The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Commencement No. 9) Regulations 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations bring sections 12, 13, 14, 55 and 60 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (“the 2018 Act”) into force on 17 January 2022.

Section 12 prevents individuals from being required to undergo an assessment of their physical condition or mental health in order to be given assistance through the Scottish social security system, where that assessment is carried out by a person who is not employed by a public body.

Section 13 places a duty on the Scottish Ministers, when arranging an assessment of an individual’s physical condition or mental health, to ensure that the assessor is suitably qualified. It also gives a power to the Scottish Ministers to specify in regulations who is to be regarded as a suitably qualified person to carry out assessments.

Section 14 provides that an individual should only be required to undergo an assessment if it is the only practicable way to obtain the information that is needed to make a decision about the assistance they are eligible for. If an individual states any wishes about where and how they would like an assessment to be undertaken, the Scottish Ministers must consider them.

Section 55 places a duty on the Scottish Ministers, when they have made a request for information from an individual which would require them to undergo an assessment, to inform the individual of the reasons why the assessment is considered necessary. It requires further information to be provided to the individual, where a face-to-face assessment will be needed.

Section 60 makes provision for individuals to request access to reports used in making a determination of their entitlement. If a person requests a copy of the report, the Scottish Ministers must comply with the request, except where it would breach data protection rules to provide the report.

The Bill for the 2018 Act received Royal Assent on 1 June 2018. Part 7 of that Act (sections 95 to 100: final provisions) came into force the following day.