Social Security Experience Panels: About Your Benefits and You - Quantitative Research Findings

Research Findings
6/2017

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Contents

Quantitative Research Findings

Key findings

List of Tables

Introduction

Background

Methodology

About the respondents
Age and gender
Location
Disability and long term health conditions
Additional Support Needs
Caring responsibilities
Experience of benefits

Overall experience of the current benefits system
Experience by age and gender
Experience by location
Experience by disability and long term health conditions
Experience by Additional Support Needs and caring responsibilities
Experience by benefit type

Priorities for improvement in the new social security system
Priorities by age and gender
Priorities by location
Priorities by disability or long term health condition
Priorities by additional support needs
Priorities by caring responsibilities
Priorities by benefit type

Summary Conclusion

Annex A: Quantitative questions included in 'About Your Benefits and You'

Annex B: Report sent to Social Security Experience Panels members on the membership demographics up to 12 May 2017

How to access background or source data

Quantitative Research Findings

The Scottish Government will become responsible for some of the benefits currently delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). As part of work to prepare for this change, Scottish Government have set up the Social Security Experience Panels. The Panels will work with people who have recent experience of benefits currently delivered by DWP to help design a new social security system with the people of Scotland. The Panels will run for 4 years and are made up of over 2,400 people with recent experience across the benefits which will be devolved to Scotland.

This report contains the quantitative research findings from the Social Security Experience Panels' 'About Your Benefits and You' research, which took place between July and September 2017. 1,144 panel members responded to this survey. This anslysis includes demographic information about the respondents (gender, age, geographical region, disability or long term health condition, additional support needs, and caring responsibilities), their overall experience of the current benefits system (rated 'very good' to 'very poor') and their priorities for improvement in the new system.

Key findings

The research shows that we have range of respondents across gender, age range, and location within Scotland. Respondents also have a range of disabilities and long term health conditions, different additional support needs, and there are respondents both with and without caring responsibilities. This includes groups who are often under represented such as people with mental health conditions or hearing loss.

More than half (60 per cent) of respondents rated their experience of the current benefits system as 'poor' or 'very poor'. 18 per cent rated their experience as 'good' or 'very good'.

The majority of respondents (71 per cent) listed 'advice and support about claiming' as a priority for Scottish Government to improve in the new social security system. More than half listed 'applying for a benefit'.

List of Tables

Table 1: Complete respondents by age and gender

Table 2: Complete respondents by Local Authority area

Table 3: Complete respondents by disability or long term health condition

Table 4: Complete respondents by additional support needs

Table 5: Respondents with caring responsibilities by time spent caring

Table 6: Respondents by benefit type

Table 7: Overall experience of current benefits system

Table 8: Overall experience of current benefits system by age

Table 9: Overall experience of current benefits system by SIMD2016 quintile

Table 10: Overall experience of current benefits system by disability or long term health condition

Table 11: Overall experience of the current benefits system by benefit type

Table 12: Priorities for improvement

Table 13: Priorities for improvement by age

Table 14: Respondents within each SIMD2016 quintile who have this as a priority

Table 15: Priorities for improvement by disability or long term health condition

Table 16: Priorities for improvement by additional support needs

Table 17: Priorities for improvement by caring responsibilities

Table 18: Priorities for improvement by benefit type

Introduction

The Scottish Government will become responsible for some of the benefits currently delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). As part of work to prepare for this change, Scottish Government have set up the Social Security Experience Panels. The Panels will work with people who have recent experience of benefits currently delivered by DWP to help design a new social security system with the people of Scotland. The Panels will run for 4 years and is made up of over 2,400 people with recent experience across the benefits which will be devolved to Scotland.

This report summarises the main quantitative results of 'About Your Benefits and You' which was the first research activity undertaken with the Social Security Experience Panels after the recrutiment stage called 'Have Your Say' finished.

About You and Your Benefits aimed to:

find out basic demographic information about the Panels

capture respondents' experiences of the current social security system, including what works well and what could be improved

ask panel members their priorities for what the Scottish Government should improve in the development and delivery of the new system

More than 1,100 panel members responded to the survey, which closed on 1 September 2017. This report provides demographic information about our respondents to inform how Scottish Government can engage with different groups when developing the new social security system. It also provides an overview of how respondents rate their experience of the exisiting system overall, and their priorities for impovement in the new system. These findings will be used to develop a work plan with the Experience Panels, based on the priorities that they have identified.

Futher reports following this one will be published which expand on the themes outlined here and the qualitative results of the 'About Your Benefits and You' research.

Background

The Social Security Experience Panels were established to ensure that the design for new social security system in Scotland is shaped by the experiences, needs and priorities of those who will use it. Over the course of the development and introduction of the new system, panel members will participate in research and service testing activities to help Scottish Government develop a system that works and that can be continually improved.

The Panels are made up of more than 2,400 people in Scotland with experience of the current social security system as it relates to the benefits and flexibilities that will be delivered in the new system. This includes individuals who have claimed on their own behalf, as well those who have helped or cared for others.

Recruitment to the Panels closed on 9 June 2017. 2,444 volunteers from across Scotland registered to the Panels by this date and we continue to receive expressions of interest to join the Panels when recruitment reopens in 2018. During the recruitment phase called 'Have Your Say', panel members provided basic personal information including their location and additional support needs. Analysis of this recruitment information up to 12 May 2017 was sent to all panel members and indicated that there was representation on the Panels from across all Scottish Local Authority areas and across all of the benefits being devolved to Scotland. It also showed that panel members represented a wide range of additional support needs including easy read, large print, and support getting to and from venues. This analysis is available in Annex B.

Over the summer of 2017, following the recruitment phase called 'Have Your Say', panel members were invited to participate in 'About Your Benefits and You'. This consisted of a survey to gather valuble demographic information as well as details of their experience of the social security system so far, and priorities for the Scottish Government to improve in the new system. 34 focus groups were also held across Scotland to provide an opportunity for more detailed, face-to-face discussion and feedback.

This report provides an overview of the quantitative survey findings from respondents to 'About Your Benefits and You' which have been added to their responses to the 'Have Your Say' recruitment survey. It does not represent the demographic information or views of Experience Panels members who did not respond to 'About Your Benefits and You'. Further analysis of both the survey and focus groups with a focus on the qualitative findings will be published at a later date.

Methodology

The 'About Your Benefits and You' survey was carried out between July and September 2017. The survey was multi mode with panel members being able to complete the survey online, in hard copy or over the phone. This included offering respondents a choice of language to complete in and a range of other accessible formats. The survey was for adults, over the age of 16.

The expeirence panels are longitudinal so information from the 'About Your Benefits and You' survey was added to infomation collected during the registration phase 'Have Your Say', including postcode, accessibility requirements and information about the benefits that respondents have experience of.

'About Your Benefits and You' asked respondents about their present and past experience of applying for, getting, challenging and appealling:

Disabilty Living Allowance (DLA)

Personal Independence Payments (PIP)

Attendance Allowance (AA)

Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA)

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB)

Carer's Allowance (CA)

Funeral Expenses Payments (FEP)

Sure Start Maternity Grants (SSMG)

Cold Weather Payments (CWP)

Winter Fuel Payments (WFP)

Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP)

Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF)

Universal Credit (UC)

Respondents answered both in relation to their experience of applying themselves, and their experience of helping others. Respondents were asked to rate their overall experience from 'very good' to 'very poor', and were asked to provide their top three priorities for Scottish Government to improve in the new social security system. They were also asked a series of qualitative questions relating to their experience which will be analysised and reported on at a later date.

Respondents were also asked basic demographic information about their age, gender, disabilties and long term health conditions, caring responsibilities, and the make-up of their household. A full list of questions is provided in annex A.

Following data cleaning, 1,144 experience panel members completed the 'About Your Benefits and You' survey. This combined dataset is reported here after analysis by Scottish Government researchers. Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number so percentages may not always add up to exactly 100%.

The data has not been weighted as publicly available information about a comparible population is not available. The information provided in this report must therefore be understood as being representative of the views of these respondents.

About the respondents

This section of the report summarises who responded to the 'About Your Benefits and You' research. This shows that a wide range of people with benefit experience have participated including groups which are sometimes under represented e.g. people with hearing loss or mental health conditions.

As such this section should be seen as a summary of who has been able to particapte in the 'About Your Benefits and You' survey from the Experience Panels, rather than a summary of how representative the panels are in a statistical sense.

The aim of the panels is to gain the experience of different types of people to inform the deisgn of the benefits system in Scotland and to do this is a way which involves as many people as possible.

Age and gender

64 per cent of respondents who told us their gender identified as female, 35 per cent as male. One per cent of respondents either identified in another way or stated that they preferred not to say. Information about these groups are not published due to the low number of responses.

Almost three quarters (74 per cent) of respondents were over the age of 45. A quarter (26 per cent) were over the age of 60. Table 1 provides an overview of respondents by age and gender.

Table 1: Complete respondents by age and gender (n=1,123)*

| % Female | % Male
24 or under | 1% | <1%
25-44 | 17% | 6%
45-59 | 31% | 17%
60 or over | 15% | 11%

*The percentages given in this table represent the proportion of respondents who completed this question. Figures relating to those who identify in another way and those who preferred not to say have not been included in the table as the number of responses is too low to publish. The figures presented therefore do not represent 100% of all those who completed this question.

Location

84 per cent of respondents live in urban areas and 16 per cent in rural areas. 13 per cent of respondents live in Glasow and 13 per cent live in Edinburgh. 7 per cent live in Fife, and 6 per cent live in the Highlands. Respondents were present from the Shetland Islands, Orkney and Eilean Siar, but with fewer than 10 respondents from each area respectively.Table 2 provides a breakdown of respondents by local authority area. A small number of respondents (less than 10) did not provide postcode information to indicate their area.

Table 2: Complete respondents by Local Authority area (n=1,140)

| % respondents
Glasgow City | 13%
Edinburgh City of | 13%
Fife | 7%
Highland | 6%
South Lanarkshire | 5%
North Lanarkshire | 5%
Dundee City | 4%
Renfrewshire | 4%
North Ayrshire | 3%
Scottish Borders | 3%
Dumfries & Galloway | 3%
Falkirk | 3%
Perth & Kinross | 3%
West Lothian | 3%
Angus | 3%
Argyll & Bute | 2%
Aberdeen City | 2%
West Dunbartonshire | 2%
Aberdeenshire | 2%
Inverclyde | 2%
Stirling | 2%
East Lothian | 2%
South Ayrshire | 2%
East Ayrshire | 1%
East Renfrewshire | 1%
Moray | 1%
East Dunbartonshire | 1%
Midlothian | 1%
Clackmannanshire | 1%
Shetland Islands | 1%
Orkney Islands | <1%
Eilean Siar | <1%

Disability and long term health conditions

81 per cent of respondents said that they had a disability or long term health condition. Half are physically disabled (50 per cent), suffer from chronic pain (50 per cent) or have another long term condition (50 per cent). Almost two in five (39 per cent) have a mental health condition. Some respondents had multiple disabilities or long term health conditions. Table 3 provides details of respondents by disability or long term health condtion.

Table 3: Complete respondents by disability or long term health condition (n=1,109)*

| % respondents
A physical disability | 50%
Chronic pain lasting at least 3 months | 50%
Another long-term condition | 50%
Mental health condition | 39%
Deafness or severe hearing impairment | 9%
Blindness or severe vision impairment | 4%
A learning disability | 5%
None of the above | 17%
Prefer not to say | 2%

*The percentages given in this table represent the proportion of respondents who said that they had each of the conditions listed. Some respondents have multiple health conditions and the figures presented therefore do not add up to 100%.

Additional Support Needs

More than a fifth (22 per cent) of respondents need support getting to and from venues. One in six (16 per cent) respondents require information provided in an alternative format, including large print, easy read, in a format suitable for use with screen reader software, type talk or text message, Braille, or in another language.

Respondents were present who require a BSL interpreter, electronic note taker or palantypist, type talk/ text message, Braille, or informaiton in another language, but with fewer than 10 respondents for each respectively. Table 4 illustrates the breakdown of respondents by their additional support needs.

Table 4: Complete respondents by additional support needs (n=1,144)*

| % all respondents
No reported additional support needs | 65%
Support getting to and from venues/support in a venue | 22%
Easy read | 8%
Support to complete things over the phone or in person | 6%
Large print | 5%
Suitable for use with screen reader software | 2%
Electronic Notetaker or Palantypist | 1%
BSL interpreter | <1%
Hearing loop | 1%
Type talk/ text messaging | <1%
Braille | <1%
Information in another language | <1%

*The percentages given in this table represent the proportion of respondents who said that they had each of the additional support needs listed. Some respondents have support needs and the figures presented therefore do not add up to 100%.

Caring responsibilities

49 per cent of respondents said that they having caring responsibilites and 49 per cent said they do not. The remaining respondents who answered this question stated that they prefered not to say. Three quarters (75 per cent) of those who have caring responsibilities and told us how many hours per week they spent caring, said that they cared for an adult or adults with long-term physical/mental ill health or a disability. A third (33 per cent) care for an adult or adults who need support due to old age. 22 per cent care for a child or children with long-term physical/ mental ill health or a disability.

More than half of respondents who have caring responsibilities and who told us about the person that they cared for said that they cared for someone with a physical disability (52 per cent) or another long-term condition (57 per cent). Almost half care for someone with a mental health condition (48 per cent) and more than a third care for someone with chronic pain (37 per cent). A third (33 per cent) care for someone with a learning disability. More than one in ten cares for someone who is deaf or has a severe hearing impairment (14 per cent) or someone who is blind or has a severe vision impairment (11 per cent).

Almost half (47 per cent) of respondents who told us how long they spend per week caring for someone said they spent more than 35 hours per week. Table 5 shows a breakdown of the amount of time respondents spent caring per week.

Table 5: Respondents with caring responsibilities by time spent caring (n=550)

Hours spent providing help or support per week | % respondents who have a caring responsibility
Up to 4 | 9%
5 to 19 | 14%
20 to 34 | 7%
35 to 49 | 11%
50 or more | 36%
It varies | 23%

It is also worth noting that among those who stated that they had caring responsibilities, 72 per cent said they were disabled or had a long term health condition themselves.

Experience of benefits

Respondents include those who are currently, or have previously, applied, received, challenged or appealed a decision for one of the relevant benefits, including those who have helped someone else. Almost all (96 per cent) respondents are getting, or have previously received a benefit. A quarter have experience of challenging (24 per cent) or appealing (25 per cent) a decision relating to their benefits. The majority of respondents have either current (eight per cent) or both current and past experience (84 per cent) of the benefits system. Seven per cent of respondents only have past experience of the benefits system.

The majority of respondents to the survey have experience of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) (68 per cent) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP) (65 per cent). Many respondents have experience of multiple benefits. Table 6 illustrates the number of respondents by benefit type.

Information about respondent experiences by benefit type will be published separately, however, it is important to note that the survey asked respondents about their experience as a whole, and did not go into detail about experiences of individual benefits. Some information relating to experiences of individual benefits is available from the qualitative responses to open-ended questions. Analysis of the qualitative data will be published as part of the full research report.

Table 6: Respondents by benefit type (n=1,144)*

Benefit | % respondents
Disability Living Allowance | 68%
Personal Independence Payments | 65%
Carers Allowance | 37%
Winter Fuel Payments | 28%
Cold Weather Payments | 26%
Discretionary Housing Payments | 24%
Attendance Allowance | 19%
Universal Credit | 18%
Severe Disablement Allowance | 17%
Scottish Welfare Fund | 16%
Funeral Expenses Allowance | 8%
Sure Start Maternity Grant | 7%
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit | 6%

*The percentages given in this table represent the proportion of respondents who said that they had experience of each of the benefits. Some respondents have experience of multiple benefits therefore the figures reported do not add up to 100%.

Overall experience of the current benefits system

Almost three in five (60 per cent) respondents rated their experience of the current benefits system as 'poor' or 'very poor'. 18 per cent rated their experience as 'good' or 'very good'. Table 6 provides a breakdown of how respondents rated their overall experience of the current benefits system.

Table 7: Overall experience of current benefits system (n=1,121)

| % respondents
Very poor | 29%
Poor | 31%
Average | 22%
Good | 12%
Very good | 6%

Experience by age and gender

There was not a noteworthy difference between how men and women rated their experience overall. The number of responses from those who identify in another way was too low to report findings.

Older respondents (aged 60 or over) were less likely to rate their experience as 'poor' or 'very poor'. Over half (51 per cent) of those who told us they were over 60, and who rated their overall experience of the social security system, described their experience as 'poor' or 'very poor', compared to more than three in five (63 per cent) of those under the age of 60. Table 8 provides a breakdown of how respondents rated their overall experience of the current benefits system by age.

Table 8: Overall experience of current benefits system by age (n=1,101)*

| Good or very good | Average | Poor or very poor
25-44 | 17% | 21% | 62%
45-59 | 14% | 22% | 64%
60 and over | 26% | 23% | 51%
Overall | 18% | 22% | 60%

* The number of responses from those aged 24 or under are too low to report

Experience by location

There was not a substantial difference between those who live in urban and rural population areas. The number of responses is not high enough to report by Local Authority area.

However, respondents from the most deprived areas were more likely to have had a poor experience than those in more affluent areas. 63 per cent of those living in the most deprived SIMD quintile described their experience of the current social security system as being 'poor' or 'very poor' compared to 51 per cent of those in the least deprived SIMD quintile. Table 9 describes how people rate their overall experience by their SIMD2016 quintile ranking (1= most deprived areas, 5 = least deprived areas).

Table 9: Overall experience of current benefits system by SIMD2016 quintile (n=1,144)

| Good or very good | Average | Poor or very poor
SIMD2016 quintile 1 | 13% | 24% | 63%
SIMD2016 quintile 2 | 16% | 21% | 63%
SIMD2016 quintile 3 | 18% | 22% | 60%
SIMD2016 quintile 4 | 21% | 21% | 58%
SIMD2016 quintile 5 | 27% | 22% | 51%

Experience by disability and long term health conditions

Those with a disability or long term health condition were more likely than those without to have had a poor experience. Those most likely to rate their experience as 'poor' or 'very poor' were people with a mental health condition (63 per cent), chronic pain (62 per cent), a physical disability (60 per cent) or another long term health condition (57 per cent). This compares with 23 per cent of people with no disability or long term health condition who say that their experience was 'poor' or 'very poor'. Table 10 illustrates how respondents rated their overall experience by disability or long term health condition.

Table 10: Overall experience of current benefits system by disability or long term health condition (n=1,132)

| Good or very good | Average | Poor or very poor
Mental health condition | 14% | 23% | 63%
Chronic pain lasting at least 3 months | 15% | 23% | 62%
A physical disability | 17% | 23% | 60%
Another long-term condition | 19% | 24% | 57%
Deafness or severe hearing impairment | 24% | 24% | 53%
Blindness or severe vision impairment | 26% | 33% | 41%
None of the above | 34% | 43% | 23%
A learning disability | 35% | 26% | 39%

Experience by Additional Support Needs and caring responsibilities

There was not a noteable difference between people who said they have, and those who do not have an additional support need in how they rated their experience of the benefits system overall. There was also not a noteable difference between those who said they have, and those who said they don't have caring responsibilities.

Experience by benefit type

Table 11 shows the breakdown of how respondents rated the system by the type of benefit that they have experience of. It is important to note that many respondents have experience of multiple benefits, and their response relates to the system as a whole, not their experience of accessing that benefit only.

Table 11: Overall experience of the current benefits system by benefit type

| Good or very good | Average | Poor or very poor
DLA (n=780) | 17% | 23% | 60%
PIP (n=739) | 14% | 19% | 66%
AA (n=216) | 15% | 31% | 54%
SDA (n=193) | 15% | 23% | 63%
IIDB (n=70) | 19% | 30% | 51%
CA (n=421) | 17% | 25% | 57%
FE (n=92) | 17% | 27% | 55%
SSMG (n=85) | 15% | 29% | 55%
CWP (n=290) | 17% | 23% | 60%
WFP (n=320) | 23% | 23% | 55%
DHP (n=270) | 13% | 24% | 63%
SWF (n=185) | 11% | 21% | 68%
UC (n=211) | 10% | 21% | 68%

Priorities for improvement in the new social security system

Respondents were asked about their top three priorities for the Scottish Government to improve in the new social security system. The majority of respondents (71 per cent) listed 'advice and support about claiming' as a priority. More than half listed 'applying for a benefit'.

Table 12 shows the breakdown of how respondents prioritised different areas for improvement.

Table 12: Priorities for improvement (n = 1,111)*

| % respondents
Advice and support about claiming | 71%
Applying for a benefit | 52%
Having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal | 45%
Being kept up to date about your claim | 44%
General enquires about benefits | 24%
Being told the result of your application | 18%
Making changes to your information after the result | 13%
Making a complaint | 10%
Something else | 2%

* figures relate to the proportion of complete respondses which listed the area within their top three priorities for improvement. Figures therefore do not add up to 100%.

Priorities by age and gender

There was not a substantial difference in how men and women prioritised areas to be improved within the new social security system. There was also not any noteworthy variation by age. Table 13 illustrates some minor variation in the weight each age bracket placed on each priority area - the overall order of priorities is, however, consistent across the age brackets.

Table 13: Priorities for improvement by age (n=1,144)*

Priority | 25-44 | 45-59 | 60 or over
Advice and support about claiming | 66% | 72% | 75%
Applying for a benefit | 61% | 52% | 44%
Having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal | 48% | 46% | 45%
Being kept up to date about your claim | 44% | 45% | 41%
General enquires about benefits | 18% | 24% | 28%
Being told the result of your application | 16% | 19% | 18%
Making changes to your information after the result | 12% | 11% | 16%
Making a complaint | 10% | 9% | 11%
Something else | 0% | 2% | 3%

* The number of responses from those aged 24 or under are too low to report

Priorities by location

There is not a major difference in the priorities identified by respondents between people living in urban and rural locations. The number of responses is not high enough to report by Local Authority area.

Table 14 shows how priorities vary depending on the affluence of their population area (1= most deprived area, 5 = least deprived area). It indicates that whilst there may be some variation by SIMD2016 ranking, the ranking of priorities overall remain similar. Those in the most affluent areas (SIMD2016 quintile 5) were less likely to identify 'having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal' as a priority (34 per cent) than those is the most deprived areas (48 per cent in SIMD2016 quintile 1 and 51 per cent in SIMD2016 quintile 2).

Table 14: Respondents within each SIMD2016 quintile who have this as a priority (n=1,140)

SIMD2016 quintile | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Advice and support about claiming | 69% | 66% | 73% | 71% | 78%
Applying for a benefit | 51% | 50% | 54% | 50% | 58%
Having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal | 48% | 51% | 43% | 44% | 34%
Being kept up to date about your claim | 47% | 43% | 47% | 37% | 42%
General enquires about benefits | 23% | 25% | 23% | 25% | 26%
Being told the result of your application | 19% | 17% | 13% | 9% | 9%
Making changes to your information after the result | 13% | 8% | 15% | 17% | 12%
Making a complaint | 9% | 13% | 10% | 12% | 3%
Something else | 1% | 1% | 2% | 6% | 2%

Priorities by disability or long term health condition

'Advice and support about claiming' was highlighted as priority by a majority of respondents, regardless of disability or long term health condition.

There was some variation about how other areas were prioritised depending on someone's disability or long term health condition. People with a learning disability (56 per cent) and people without a disability or long term health condition (59 per cent) were more likely to priorities 'applying for a benefit' than they were 'having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal' which was a slightly higher priority for most other disabilities or health conditions listed. Table 15 illustrates how priorities vary across disability or long term health condition.

Table 15: Priorities for improvement by disability or long term health condition (n=1,109)

| A physical disability | Chronic pain lasting at least 3 months | Another long-term condition | Mental health condition | Deafness or severe hearing impairment | Blindness or severe vision impairment | A learning disability | None of the above
Advice and support about claiming | 71% | 68% | 69% | 66% | 67% | 72% | 60% | 78%
Having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal | 51% | 52% | 50% | 52% | 55% | 49% | 39% | 33%
Applying for a benefit | 49% | 49% | 52% | 51% | 41% | 45% | 56% | 61%
Being kept up to date about your claim | 44% | 46% | 45% | 45% | 41% | 38% | 33% | 44%
General enquiries about benefits | 20% | 18% | 22% | 20% | 29% | 26% | 37% | 29%
Being told the result of your application | 19% | 20% | 18% | 20% | 17% | 13% | 11% | 16%
Making changes to your information after the result | 14% | 13% | 14% | 14% | 19% | 19% | 9% | 12%
Making a complaint | 12% | 11% | 9% | 10% | 12% | 15% | 14% | 8%
Something else | 2% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 4% | 1%

Priorities by additional support needs

As illustrated in table 16, there is not a noteable variation in how respondents prioritised areas for change by whether or not they have additional support needs. Due to the sample size it is not possible to break this down further to look at variations between different types of additional support needs.

Table 16: Priorities for improvement by additional support needs (n=1,111)

| % of respondents without ASN | % of respondents with ASN
Advice and support about claiming | 72% | 69%
Applying for a benefit | 52% | 53%
Having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal | 45% | 47%
Being kept up to date about your claim | 44% | 44%
General enquires about benefits | 25% | 21%
Being told the result of your application | 18% | 19%
Making changes to your information after the result | 13% | 12%
Making a complaint | 9% | 11%
Something else | 2% | 2%

Priorities by caring responsibilities

There is not a substantial difference in how respondents prioritised areas for improvement depending on whether or not they have caring responsibilities. This is detailed in table 17.

Table 17: Priorities for improvement by caring responsibilities (n=1,144)

| % respondents without caring responsibility who have this as a priority | % respondents with caring responsibility who have this as a priority
Advice and support about claiming | 70% | 72%
Applying for a benefit | 50% | 56%
Having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal | 46% | 46%
Being kept up to date about your claim | 44% | 44%
General enquires about benefits | 24% | 24%
Being told the result of your application | 18% | 18%
Making changes to your information after the result | 13% | 11%
Making a complaint | 12% | 7%
Something else | 2% | 2%

Priorities by benefit type

Table 18 illustrates the priorities for improvement by the type of benefit that they have experience of. It is important to note that many respondents have experience of multiple benefits, and the response relates to the system as a whole, not their experience of accessing that benefit only.

Table 18: Priorities for improvement by benefit type (n=1,144)

| DLA | PIP | AA | SDA | IIDB | CA | FE | SSMG | CWP | WFP | DHP | SWF | UC
Advice and support about claiming | 69% | 68% | 77% | 70% | 79% | 74% | 82% | 71% | 65% | 72% | 71% | 66% | 67%
Applying for a benefit | 55% | 53% | 50% | 49% | 45% | 57% | 53% | 53% | 48% | 46% | 55% | 54% | 53%
Having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal | 48% | 50% | 41% | 43% | 48% | 46% | 39% | 42% | 49% | 50% | 49% | 55% | 49%
Being kept up to date about your claim | 43% | 45% | 37% | 41% | 35% | 45% | 40% | 46% | 44% | 38% | 42% | 38% | 40%
General enquires about benefits | 21% | 21% | 30% | 22% | 24% | 25% | 25% | 19% | 23% | 26% | 21% | 24% | 27%
Being told the result of your application | 19% | 18% | 19% | 18% | 23% | 15% | 26% | 24% | 23% | 20% | 18% | 18% | 16%
Making changes to your information after the result | 14% | 14% | 14% | 17% | 13% | 12% | 12% | 15% | 18% | 15% | 12% | 10% | 11%
Making a complaint | 10% | 9% | 9% | 11% | 11% | 7% | 5% | 7% | 9% | 10% | 11% | 11% | 15%
Something else | 2% | 2% | 2% | 4% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1%

Summary Conclusion

The respondents to 'About Your Benefits and You' cover a wide range of demographics within the population. This includes by gender, age, and population area, as well as having a disability or long term health condition, additional support needs, or caring responsiblities.

The responses to the questionnaire indicate that three in five respondents would describe their experience of the exisiting benefits system as 'poor' or 'very poor'. This is higher amongest people under the age of 60, those living in areas of greater deprevation, and among those with a disability or long term health condition.

The priority areas for Scottish Government to improve in the new social security system were relatively consistent across different demographic groups. 'Advice and support about claiming', 'applying for a benefit' and 'having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal' were consistenly the top three priorities across different demographic groups, althought there is some minor variations in the weight given to each of these areas.

Annex A: Quantitative questions included in 'About Your Benefits and You'

Section 1. Your experience of benefits

The first set of questions will ask you more about your experience of the current benefit system.

Q1 & Q2 ask about your own experience of applying for or receiving benefits.

Q3 & Q4 ask if you have experience of applying for or receiving benefits on behalf of someone else.

Q1. I am currently…

Q2. In the past, I…

Q3. I am currently helping someone else…

Q4. In the past I helped someone else…

Apply

Get

Challenge

Appeal

Please tick all that apply on each line:

Disabilty Living Allowance

Personal Independence Payments

Attendance Allowance

Severe Disablement Allowance

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit

Carer's Allowance

Funeral Expenses Payments

Sure Start Maternity Grants

Cold Weather Payments

Winter Fuel Payments

Discretionary Housing Payments

Scottish Welfare Fund

Universal Credit

Section 2. The current system, what works well & what could be better

Q5. Overall, how would you rate your experience of applying for or receiving benefits? Please tick one box only.

Very good

Good

Average

Poor

Very poor

Q9. What are the top 3 things that the Scottish Government should improve about the benefit system?

Please tick the three that you think are the most important.

General enquiries about benefits

Advice and support about claiming

Applying for a benefit

Being kept up to date about your claim

Being told the results of your application

Making changes to your information after the result

Making a complaint

Having a claim reconsidered or going to appeal

Something else - please tell us in the text box below

Section 3. About you

The information will help find out if different groups of people have different experiences of the benefits system.

You do not have to answer any questions that you don't want to. If you would prefer not to answer any question, then you should skip it and go to the next question.

These questions will ask about you first then about your household and if you care for someone else.

Q12, Q13 & Q14 ask about you personally

Q15 & Q16 ask about who lives with you

Q17, Q18, Q19 & Q20 ask about the people you support or care for.

Q12. What was your age on your last birthday?

Please tick one box

15 or under

16 - 24

25 - 44

45 - 59

60-79

80 or over

Prefer not to say

Q13. Are you male or female?

Please tick one box

Male

Female

Other

Prefer not to say

Q14. Do you have any of the following conditions which have lasted, or are expected to last at least 12 months or more?

Please tick all that apply.

A physical disability

Chronic pain lasting at least 3 months

Another long-term condition

Mental health condition

Deafness or severe hearing impairment

Blindness or severe vision impairment

A learning disability

None of the above

Prefer not to say

This is a standard question asking in other surveys. We are asking this question so we can better understand if people with different conditions have different experiences of the benefits system. Your answer will only be used as part of the Experience Panels research and will not be used for any other purpose.

About the people who live with you

Q15. Including yourself, how many adults (aged 16 or over) are living in your household?

Please tick one box.

One adult

Two adults

Three adults

Four adults

Five adults

More than five adults (if so how many)

Q16. Including yourself, how many children (aged under 16) are living in your household?

Please tick one box.

One child

Two children

Three children

Four children

Five children

More than five children (if so how many)

About the people you support or care for

Q17. Do you look after, or give regular help or support to family members, friends, neighbours or others because of either a long-term physical/mental ill-health/disability; or problems related to old age?

Please tick one box.

Yes

No

Prefer not to say

Q18. Which of the following do you give regular help or support to? Please tick all that apply.

A child or children with long-term physical/mental ill-health/ a disability

A adults or adults with long-term physical/mental ill-health/ a disability

An adult or adults who needs support due to old age

Someone else (if so who)

Q19. Does the person/people you give regular help or support to have any of the following conditions which have lasted, or are expected to last at least 12 months or more?

Please tick all that apply.

A physical disability

Chronic pain lasting at least 3 months

Another long-term condition

Mental health condition

Deafness or severe hearing impairment

Blindness or severe vision impairment

A learning disability

None of the above

Prefer not to say

This is a standard question asked in other surveys. We are asking this question so we can better understand if people with different conditions have different experiences of the benefits system. Your answer will only be used as part of the Experience Panels research and will not be used for any other purpose.

Q20. In total, how many hours each week approximately do you spend providing this regular help or support?

Up to 4 hours a week

5-19 hours a week

20-34 hours a week

34-49 hours a week

50 or more hours a week

It varies

Annex B: Report sent to Social Security Experience Panels members on the membership demographics up to 12 May 2017

Experience Panels

Have your say - What we know about the people who signed up to the Experience Panels

Thanks for signing up for the Social Security Experience Panels. This is what you told us about yourselves. It gives information on everyone who signed up by the 12th May:

Where you all live in the country

What benefits you all have experience of

How you would all like to be contacted

What your support needs are

We have created two versions of this leaflet:

an Easy Read version of this, and

a version with simple formatting and no graphics.

We know this from the information you gave us when you applied to join. We have made sure the information does not identify you personally but wanted you to know what we have found out so far.

This leaflet is being sent out to all of the people that have joined the Experience Panels, along with a letter from the Scottish Social Security Minister, Ms Jeane Freeman MSP.

We welcome any comments and suggestions about how both versions of this leaflet could be improved.

Recruitment has been extended, and will now end on the 9th June 2017. We will be doing more work on the information you have given us and will keep you up to date about what we find out.

Experience Panels

Analysis - Easy Read Version

Experience Panels

Analysis - Simple version

How many people signed up to the Experience Panels

Recruitment to the Experience Panels opened on the 3rd March 2017 for 10 weeks. By 12th May 2017, 2335 people had joined.

How do Experience Panel members want to be contacted?

85% of you said by email

57% of you said by post

37% of you said by text

26% of you said by mobile

18% of you said by home phone.

What support needs Panel members have?

63% of you said support getting to a venue/support in a venue

23% of you said easy read

19% of you said support to complete things by phone or in person

14% of you said large print.

Where do Experience Panel members live?

Local Authority | Number of people
Aberdeen City | 55
Aberdeenshire | 46
Angus | 52
Argyll & Bute | 52
Clackmannanshire | 20
Dumfries & Galloway | 50
Dundee City | 75
East Ayrshire | 33
East Dunbartonshire | 27
East Lothian | 39
East Renfrewshire | 40
Edinburgh City | 262
Eilean Siar | 6
Falkirk | 57
Fife | 164
Glasgow City | 340
Highland | 111
Inverclyde | 51
Midlothian | 21
Moray | 32
North Ayrshire | 61
North Lanarkshire | 108
Orkney Islands | 5
Perth & Kinross | 67
Renfrewshire | 87
Scottish Borders | 61
Shetland Islands | 12
South Ayrshire | 36
South Lanarkshire | 131
Stirling | 37
West Dunbartonshire | 60
West Lothian | 64
No Local Authority stated | 129

What benefits do panel members have experience of:

Name of Benefit | Number of people
Disability Living Allowance | 877
Personal Independence Payment | 873
Carer's Allowance | 440
Winter Fuel Payment | 368
Cold Weather Payment | 262
Discretionary Housing Payment | 236
Severe Disablement Allowance | 148
Scottish Welfare Fund | 147
Universal Credit | 134
Attendance Allowance | 71
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit | 57
Healthy Start | 46
Funeral Expenses Payment | 32
Sure Start Maternity Grant | 18

How to access background or source data

The data collected for this social research publication:

☐ are available in more detail through Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics

☐ are available via an alternative route <specify or delete this text>

☒ may be made available on request, subject to consideration of legal and ethical factors.

☐ cannot be made available by Scottish Government for further analysis as Scottish Government is not the data controller.