SCoSS Charter Sub-Committee Meeting

Date: 13 March 2026
Time: 11:00
Venue: Virtual (Microsoft Teams)

Minutes

Present—

  • Dr Mark Simpson (Chair);
  • Dr Marilyn Howard (Member);
  • Ed Pybus (Member)

Apologies: None

In attendance (SCoSS Secretariat)—

  • Andrew Strong (Head of Policy and Scrutiny, SCoSS Secretariat);
  • Stephen Herbert (Secretary, SCoSS Secretariat);
  • Christopher Galloway (Analysis and Participation Support Officer, SCoSS Secretariat);
  • Lisa Kinnear (Governance and Engagement Officer, SCoSS Secretariat);
  • Keith Rae (Senior Policy & Engagement Officer, SCoSS Secretariat)

In attendance for agenda item 3, 4 & 5 –

  • Molly Rosenbaum (Senior Consultation Analyst, The Lines Between);
  • Carole Kelly (Senior Consultation Analyst, The Lines Between);
  • Alastair Graham (Research Manager, The Lines Between)

    Apologies: None

    1. Welcome and declaration of interests

    The Chair, Mark, welcomed the Members to the third meeting of the SCoSS Charter research sub-committee in 2026. No interests were declared.

    2. Matters arising from previous meeting

    Members agreed the February Charter Sub-Committee meeting minutes, which will be presented at the next Board meeting for approval before being published on the SCoSS website.

    3. Charter research contracts update

    Molly Rosenbaum presented a general overview of The Lines Between’s charter research findings. Members indicated that they were happy with progress to date and with the content of the draft reports.

    Members commended the quality of the draft reports and the consolidation and use of information. Discussion covered authorship arrangements, the use of final recommendations arising from the research, and stylistic amendments. It was agreed that The Lines Between would incorporate any agreed revisions and produce the final versions of the reports.

    4. Literature Review: Decision-making for Adult Disability Payment

    Molly Rosenbaum provided an overview of progress to date against the research questions. This included coverage of the sources reviewed, key findings, identified evidence gaps, and the recommendations emerging from the research. She also outlined next steps, including consideration of feedback from members, the inclusion of an executive summary, and the use of infographics for agreed sections of the report.

    Members provided feedback on the draft report and agreed that any additional comments would be collated by the Secretariat and shared with The Lines Between at the earliest opportunity to inform the final report.

    Action: Members were invited to share any further points of discussion ahead of the meetings with Social Security Scotland.

    5. Literature Review: Experiences of the Scottish social security system among people for whom English is a second language

    Carole provided an overview of the report, outlining the research questions, emerging findings, and key recommendations arising from the research.

    Members provided feedback on the draft report and agreed that any additional comments would be collated by the Secretariat and shared with The Lines Between at the earliest opportunity to inform the final report.

    6. Any other business

    Andrew noted that the subcommittee would meet again in the near future to reflect on charter research progress to date and to discuss next steps, including engagement with Social Security Scotland and the Scottish Government, as well as possible future areas of research for the subcommittee to undertake.

    It was noted that the chairing of the subcommittee was due to change in line with the current six-monthly rotation. Members agreed that Mark would continue in the role of Chair until September at which point Marilyn will take over the Chair role.

    Next meeting: 20 April 2026

    Meeting closed at: 12:53

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