I’ve just spent a productive afternoon at a round-table discussion of benefits for disability, at the Scottish Parliament. While many groups are understandably concerned with the transition from UK to Scottish administration, there is also some interest on seizing on the opportunities that the new legislative framework offers. The need to protect people’s current situation is however emphasised by a recent report from the MS Society, charting the impact that the transition from DLA to PIP has had on people with multiple sclerosis. The transition had had a major negative effect on daily life, emotional well being and the medical condition of sufferers.
There’s a limit to what the Scottish Government can hope to do; the system is a mess, and resources to revive it are limited. The best hope probably lies in reforming the culture of the administration: moving, if it can be done, from an adversarial system to one that listens, learns and corrects its mistakes.