The Young Carer Grant Regulations 2019: scrutiny report

The Commission came into existence at a time when the process of developing Young Carer Grant (YCG) regulations was already well advanced. It was thus necessary to set up the new body, develop ways of working and apply them within a very tight timeframe. Therefore, this is a new process for the Commission, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament. For these reasons, this report – though robust in its analysis – may not fully reflect how the Commission approaches similar scrutiny processes in future. It may also be the case that this report raises issues that can, or could have been, readily addressed had the Commission had the opportunity for earlier engagement from the outset and during the development process.

In developing this report, we met with lead officials at our first meeting held over 21 and 22 February 2019. We also considered evidence drawn from the Scottish Government’s consultation document, the analysis report of responses to that consultation, the report on YCG published by the Social Security Committee and the advice of the Expert Advisory Group on Disability and Carers Benefits. The draft regulations were formally referred to the Commission on 30 April.

With regard to human rights, in addition to the usual instruments that can be expected always to apply, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is of direct relevance to these regulations¹In particular, Article 3: https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) may also indirectly have some bearing as it sets out the state’s duty to provide adequate social support and protection schemes for ensuring independent and community living²In particular, Article 4, 3. (General Obligations, involvement of people with disabilities); General Article 19 (independent living). See: https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2.htm.

The report begins with an examination of the Scottish Government’s policy intention and the engagement it undertook to inform policy development. It then sets out detailed scrutiny of the regulations. It closes with recommendations on key issues for monitoring and evaluation, to ensure that that policy objectives are met and with a view to achieving continuous improvement.