Scotland’s Social Justice Secretary has said her thoughts are with the families of nine children reported to have died while waiting on disability benefits.
Shirley-Anne Somerville offered her condolences to the families affected in Holyrood on Thursday.
It comes after figures published by the Daily Record revealed nine children had died while waiting for the payments to be processed.
Official statistics show around 76,000 children and young people are in receipt of the benefit, which was introduced by the Scottish Government in 2021 to replace the UK-wide disability living allowance which was paid for by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
The benefit helps cover the additional costs of caring for a disabled or terminally ill child – however, MSPs have raised concerns about the length of time it takes for Social Security Scotland to process the payments.
The figures, obtained by the newspaper through freedom of information requests, show one child applied in December 2021 but died in March 2023 – more than 400 days later – without the claim being processed.
An application was made for another child in June 2022 but the agency was informed of a death 249 days later while still processing the claim.
Other lengthy waits between application and notification of death included 199, 177 and 102 days.
There were also gaps of 86, 73, 48 and four days.
Speaking during portfolio questions in the Scottish Parliament, Ms Somerville said the median average processing time for children was 97 days in December 2023.
She said: “My thoughts are with the families of the children that are referenced in the reports in the media.
“It is something I take exceptionally seriously, as we all do, as we deliver social security in Scotland.”
Her comments followed Labour MSP Claire Baker who said she was originally planning to raise the case of a Mid Scotland and Fife constituent who had to wait more than six months for payment.
She said the figures were “heart-breaking”, adding: “This morning we have seen the distressing report that nine children have died while waiting for their child disability payments to be processed and our thoughts are with the families of each of these children.
“I know we all want a social security system which works for those who need support and that treats them with compassion and dignity, and we have to recognise that part of that is addressing long waits and delivering these vital payments with the urgency that is required.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie said the deaths brought the consequences of long waits into “sharp focus”.
Social Security Scotland, which oversees the benefits, said children who are terminally ill receive the benefit more quickly due to the circumstances of their case.
However, the agency said there were a “number of factors” impacting on how long a decision takes, including information gathering to support an application.