SCoSS Charter Sub-Committee Meeting
Date: 08 October 2025
Time: 09:30
Location: Virtual (Microsoft Teams)
Minutes
Present —
- Dr Marilyn Howard (Chair);
- Dr Mark Simpson (Chair);
- Ed Pybus (Member)
Apologies: None
In attendance —
- Andrew Strong (Head of Policy and Scrutiny, SCoSS Secretariat);
- Christopher Galloway (Analysis and Participation Support Officer, SCoSS Secretariat);
- Lisa Kinnear (Governance and Engagement Officer, SCoSS Secretariat)
Apologies: None
1. Welcome and declaration of interests
Marilyn welcomed the Members to the tenth meeting of the SCoSS charter research sub-committee in 2025.
Marilyn noted that she is due to stand down as Chair of the sub-committee at the next sub-committee meeting in October and that Mark will then take up the Chair role for the next six months.
No interests were declared.
2. Matters arising from previous meeting
The minutes from the September sub-committee meeting were agreed with amendments as discussed, and will be published following Board approval.
3. Charter research specification – Experiences of people for whom English is not their first language
The Secretariat provided members with an update on the current procurement process. It was explained that initial commissioning steps have commenced, and the Secretariat are currently awaiting the assignment of a Scottish Government procurement contact who will support the process through to tender. It was noted that we will work with procurement colleagues to determine whether two separate requests are required with Members advising that it would preferable to proceed with two separate tenders.
Discussions took place regarding the proposed specification guidance for procuring the work externally.
Action: Amendments will be made to the document before it is shared with Procurement colleagues.
4. Charter research specification – Adult Disability Payment determinations, redeterminations and Short-term Assistance
The sub-committee discussed the proposed specification guidance for externally procuring the work.
Action: Amendments will be made to the document prior to sharing it with procurement colleagues.
5. Communication with the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland
Andrew confirmed that Social Security Scotland has drafted its response to SCoSS’s Charter report, which explores the experiences of people with communication needs when accessing the social security system. The response is currently awaiting approval from the senior team and we expect to receive this in due course.
Proposed topics for future research have been shared informally and passed on to senior leadership at Social Security Scotland. Once procurement begins, the process should be formalised and this remains an ongoing action to be picked up between meetings.
6. Any other business
Members discussed whether to proceed with the procurement process as soon as we are ready, or if a formal protocol is required.
Action: Consider whether an update to the board is needed between meetings, possibly in writing.
Next meeting: TBC.
Meeting closed at: 10:59