Social security systems based on dignity and respect - Invitation to tender

Under the Scotland Act 2016, legislative responsibility for particular areas of social security will be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Eleven benefits are being devolved, accounting for around 15% of the current benefit spend in Scotland. A range of related powers have also been devolved, including the power to top-up reserved benefits.

About the role

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is seeking to commission research on the design of social security systems based on the concepts of dignity and respect.

The Scottish Government has committed to ensuring that ‘respect for the dignity of individuals will be at the heart of the new social security system in Scotland’. The EHRC has welcomed this commitment but noted that the concepts of ‘dignity’ and ‘respect’ can have different meanings in different contexts.

The right to social security is a fundamental human right, as contained within several international treaties to which the UK is a signatory. It is also essential as a stepping stone to ensure other rights are fulfilled, such as the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to private and family life, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the rights to education and to work, and the right to take part in public decision-making.

General Comment 19 of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides detailed guidance regarding the state’s obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil the right to social security. It states that the right to social security encompasses the right to access and maintain benefits, without discrimination, to secure protection from lack of work-related income, unaffordable access to healthcare, and insufficient family support.

EHRC Scotland is committed to working with the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC), the Scottish Government, civil society, and those with lived experience of the social security system to give clear meaning to the terms ‘dignity’ and ‘respect’ in the context of social security, underpinned by an equality and human rights analysis.

Responsibilities

• Provide evidence of aspects of social security systems elsewhere that offer examples of best practice and could be said to be founded on the principles of dignity and respect.
• Provide evidence on how these mechanisms have been devised, implemented, and measured in other jurisdictions, and how these could potentially be applied to Scotland’s new social security system.

The research will inform the approach and understanding of the oversight group and the Scottish Government more widely. It could also be used by civil society in informing their approach to engagement on social security.

Requirements

Tender details (EHRC-AHJE-7FC959) are available on the procurement portal. The deadline for submissions is 1pm on 2 February 2017.