Disability benefits evaluation - case transfer: qualitative research - annex A

2. Introduction and methods

Background

The Scotland Act (2016) devolved some social security powers to the Scottish Government for the first time. Most of these relate to disability benefits and carers’ benefits. Social Security Scotland, the organisation responsible for the delivery of these benefits, was set up in 2018 and the programme of devolution is expected to be completed by 2025/26. A major element of this programme is the transfer of around 700,000 child and adult disability benefit cases from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to Social Security Scotland.

In November 2022, the Scottish Government commissioned Ipsos Scotland to undertake qualitative research into the experiences and outcomes for people whose cases are being transferred from DWP to Social Security Scotland, and the experiences of staff delivering this work. The aim of the research was to identify which elements are working well and what needs to change, to help inform improvements to the case transfer process. Specifically, it explored the experiences of clients transferring to/from:

• Child Disability Payment (CDP) from the Disability Living Allowance for children (DLAC).
• Adult Disability Payment (ADP) from either the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance^[1] (DLA).

This research is part of a wider programme of work evaluating the policy impact of the devolution of disability benefits, with the overarching aim to understand how a benefit is being implemented and what effects it has had, for whom and why. This wider work will provide insight into how benefits contribute to the delivery of wider Social Security principles and government objectives. More detail can be found in the Devolution of disability benefits: evaluation strategy.

Overview of case transfer and review processes

This section provides an overview of the case transfer and review processes. A glossary of terms is provided in Appendix 1.

Disability Living Allowance for Children to Child Disability Payment

Criteria

Cases are subject to transfer where the individual normally lives in Scotland, and they meet one of the agreed selection criteria:

• Age – with the oldest clients being selected first; and
• SRTI – those who meet the special rules for terminal illness (not covered by this research)

Once a case is selected for transfer the DWP sends the relevant data, forms and evidence in batches to Social Security Scotland.

Client journey

Step 1. Social Security Scotland issues an introduction letter to the individual letting them know that they have been selected for case transfer. This letter also details the process and timescales. The letter also explains that any change of circumstances during the transfer process should be reported directly to the DWP.

Step 2. The case transfer process typically takes 13 to 17 weeks and in this time the information regarding the individual’s DLAC is sent from the DWP to Social Security Scotland. During this time the Case Manager can also request further information from the individual, if this information is not available from the DWP.

Step 3. The transfer is made on a like for like basis and therefore no individual will receive less CDP than their current DLA award at the point of transfer. There are exceptions where the individual should receive a higher award:

• Individuals who are in certain types of care homes or legal detention.
• Individuals over 16 who can avail themselves of the “main meal” test as a result.
• Individuals over 16 and no longer need to meet the “substantially in excess” tests as a result.
• Differences in evidentiary requirements for terminal illness or visual impairment.

Step 4. Case Manager makes determination to award CDP (see Appendix 1 for a definition) and sends the individual a letter which includes details of the award, date of commencement of the award and cessation date of the old award. The letter also includes dates of payment and how to request a re-determination of an award. Any accessible vehicle agreements or equipment will also transfer on the same basis and the provider will be notified of the transfer by Social Security Scotland. People will be able to retain the same appointee they had with DWP upon transfer until further checks are carried out by Social Security Scotland.

Step 5. The Case Manager will then set a review date based on when they think the client’s needs will change. The review date is typically in line with the review date set by the DWP. Review periods generally range between two and 10 years. For those whose conditions are very unlikely to change their review date will be set between five and 10 years after their award has been made. The review will be light-touch and will be tailored to that individual’s needs. Young people reaching the age of 18 will then be invited to apply for Adult Disability Payment.

Personal Independence Payment to Adult Disability Payment

Criteria

The DWP will send the details of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) cases to be transferred in batches to Social Security Scotland. Natural transfer commenced from August 2022 with managed transfer starting in 2023 (see Appendix 1 for definitions). The agreed selection criteria for natural transfers are:

Individuals who normally live in Scotland:

• Who have reached their PIP award review date
• Who have reached 26 weeks before the end of their PIP award
• Who have reported a change in their health condition to DWP
• Who met the special rules for terminal illness (not covered by this research).

For managed transfer, cases are selected based on their review date, with those with review dates furthest in the future being selected for transfer first.

Client journey

Step 1. Case Manager issues an introduction letter to the individual confirming that their award has been selected for case transfer. This letter also details the process and timescales, and explains that any change of circumstances during the transfer process should be reported directly to the DWP.

Step 2. The case transfer process typically takes 13 to 17 weeks and in this time the information regarding the individual’s Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is sent from the DWP to Social Security Scotland. In this time, Social Security Scotland can also request further information from the individual if this information is not available from the DWP.

Step 3. The transfer is made on a like for like basis so no individual will receive less ADP than their current PIP award at the point of transfer. An individual who meets the special rules for terminal illness immediately before the date of transfer is entitled to the enhanced rate of both daily living and mobility components of ADP.

Step 4. Case Manager makes determination to award ADP and sends the individual a letter and a factsheet which includes details of the award, date of commencement of award and the cessation date of old award. It also includes dates of payment and how to request re-determination or appeal of the award (see Appendix 1 for a definition of these terms). Any accessible vehicle agreements or equipment will also transfer on the same basis and the provider will be notified of the transfer by Social Security Scotland. People will be able to retain the same appointee they had with DWP upon transfer until further checks are carried out by Social Security Scotland. People are also told to update providers of any passported benefits (i.e. other support they may be eligible for as a result of their disability benefit entitlement).

Step 5. If there has been a change of circumstances reported during the case transfer the Case Manager will then request supporting information from the individual as soon as their ADP begins and will commence the review process of the award. Individuals should commence collecting supporting information as soon as their change in circumstances occurs. The Case Manager will start the review as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Disability Living Allowance for adults to Adult Disability Payment

Criteria

Individual awards will be selected commencing with the natural transfer cases. The natural case transfer process commenced in August 2022. The agreed selection criteria for natural transfers are:

Individuals who normally live in Scotland:

• Whose DLA award is due to end or be renewed
• Who have reported a change in their health condition
• Who meet the special rules for terminal illness (not covered by this research)
• Who have made a voluntary application to be moved to Adult Disability payment (ADP).

Client journey

Step 1. Case Manager issues an introduction letter to the individual letting them know that they have been selected for case transfer. This letter also details the process and timescales, and explains that any change of circumstances during the transfer process should be reported directly to the DWP.

Step 2. The case transfer process typically takes 13 to 17 weeks and in this time the information regarding the individual’s DLA is sent from the DWP to Social Security Scotland.

Step 3. The transfer is made on a like for like basis so no individual will receive less ADP than their current DLA award at the point of transfer. A transitional rate of the daily living component has been introduced to match the low rate of the DLA care component. An individual who meets the special rules for terminal illness immediately before the date of transfer is entitled to the enhanced rate of both daily living and mobility components of ADP.

Step 4. Case Manager makes determination to award ADP and sends the individual a letter which includes details of the award, date of commencement of the award and the cessation date of old award. It also includes dates of payment and how to request re-determination or appeal of the award. It also includes a review form people need to fill in and return, including any supporting information they feel is relevant. Case Managers will also gather supporting information from other sources, if needed, and complete a review of the ADP award under the usual ADP rules. Any accessible vehicle agreements or equipment will also transfer on the same basis and the provider will be notified of the transfer by Social Security Scotland. People will be able to retain the same appointee they had with DWP upon transfer until further checks are carried out by Social Security Scotland. People are also told to update providers of any passported benefits (i.e. other support they may be eligible for as a result of their disability benefit entitlement).

Policy commitments

The following policy commitments have been made in relation to the case transfer and review processes:

• Correct payment made at the correct time.
• No re-applications.
• No face-to-face DWP-style reassessments.
• Complete as soon as possible while maintaining “safe and secure”.
• Clear communications with individuals.
• Reviews, where required, are right first time.
• Reviews, where required, are undertaken in line with relevant policy commitments^[2].

A logic model setting out how the case transfer and review process is intended to contribute to positive outcomes for individuals is shown at Appendix 2.

Research aims

The research sought to answer the following questions:

1. What is working well and what needs to be improved with regard to case transfers?

2. What differences in experience can be drawn from clients transferring from different benefits?

3. What are the key differences clients are experiencing in the assessment processes compared to that with DWP and how do they feel about these differences?

4. Has the case transfer process been executed in line with policy principles?

5. What short-, medium-, and longer-term impacts did the case transfer experience have on clients?

Method

The research took a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews. Information sheets, participant invitations, and discussion guides were drafted by Ipsos and sent to the Scottish Government for comment before being finalised. The perspectives and experiences of the following groups were explored:

• Clients whose cases had transferred from DWP to Social Security Scotland. Clients were asked about their overall experience of the case transfer process as well as details of different elements including: their understanding of what would happen; their interactions with Social Security Scotland and/or DWP staff; their experiences of the review (where applicable); what they thought worked well; and what they thought could be improved. They were also asked about their interactions with Social Security Scotland, how they felt they had been treated, and the impact their experiences had on their perceptions of Social Security Scotland.
• Social Security Scotland staff involved in the case transfer and review processes. These staff were asked for their perspectives on the client experience as well as the staff experience. They were asked about their role in the case transfer and review elements of the process; what aspects of the process worked well; what challenges they encountered; and what they thought could be improved. They were also asked about the training, support, and decision-making guidance they have access to.

The full discussion guides are provided at Appendix 3.

Client interviews and quotas

We interviewed 48 clients: 14 who had transferred from DLAC to CDP, 19 who had transferred from DLA to ADP, and 15 who had transferred from PIP to ADP. Further demographic details are shown in the table below. Interviews were undertaken remotely by telephone or video call, depending on the client’s preference. Interviews lasted around 45 minutes on average. With the participants’ permission, interviews were audio recorded for analysis.

Fieldwork with clients was conducted in two phases:

• Phase One focused on clients transferring from DLAC to CDP and from DLA to ADP. Fieldwork for Phase One took place between 3 and 29 March 2023.
• Phase Two focused on clients transferring from PIP to ADP and from DLA to ADP, with a particular focus on those who had been through a review following the transfer of their case. Fieldwork for Phase Two took place between 31 May and 10 July 2023.

The aim of sampling in qualitative research is not to obtain a representative sample of the population of interest, but to obtain a mix of people with a range of different characteristics. This maximises the chance of identifying different issues. In this case, quotas were set on benefit type and circumstances of the case transfer. Minimum age targets were set on DLAC – CDP clients only. Quotas were met on benefit type but not on circumstances of transfer or on DLAC – CDP clients aged over 15.5 at the time of transfer (due to the limitations of the opt-in recruitment approach, see below). However, a range of transfer circumstances were captured within each client group.

The sample reflected a range of different types of health conditions and disabilities including physical and mental health conditions, and people with multiple and complex conditions.

Recruitment of clients

Recruitment was undertaken through Social Security Scotland who emailed invitations and participant information sheets to clients whose transfers had completed. Participants were offered £30 as a ‘thank you’ for their time. Those who were interested in taking part opted in by emailing or by phoning Ipsos. Ipsos then responded via email or phone. Potential participants were asked a small number of questions to check that they were eligible to take part and whether they fitted the quotas. The questions included:

• A check on the type of benefit they were transferring from/to and the circumstances of the transfer.
• A check that they were now receiving CDP or ADP.
• Whether the transfer was for themselves or for someone else.
• Whether they had undergone a review or not.
• Age (particularly whether CDP clients were under or over the age of 15.5 at the time of their transfer).
• Their postcode (to record area deprivation and rurality).
• Their ethnicity.

To remove barriers to participation, clients were provided with information sheets which included easy read versions. Where requested, advance notice of the types of questions that would be asked was provided. Clients were also offered the option for interviews to be split into smaller parts. Several clients opted for this, but once in the interview they chose to keep going and completed the interview in one go. Interviewers checked in regularly to make sure clients were happy to continue in these instances. In all DLAC cases, interviews were conducted with parents or carers of the child. One DLA client was accompanied by a carer and in another DLA case the carer was interviewed on behalf of the client.

Staff interviews and focus groups

Sixteen members of staff were included in the research. Fieldwork was conducted mostly face-to-face in Social Security Scotland offices in Glasgow in March and June 2023, and involved two depth interviews, one paired depth interview, and four focus groups. Due to staff availability, one focus group with Client Advisors was conducted over video call and one was a hybrid discussion involving some Client Advisors attending in-person and some by video call.

Staff working on the case transfer elements of the process were involved in Phase One of fieldwork. This included Client Advisors who process the cases and are client-facing, Team Managers who oversee the work of Client Advisor, and Team Support Officers who oversee the work of Team Managers and approve cases. The Team Support Officers, Team Managers and more experienced Client Advisors had worked on both ADP and CDP cases, while Client Advisors with less than six months experience had worked only on ADP cases.

Staff working on the review elements of the process were involved in Phase Two of fieldwork. This included Case Managers who are responsible for processing information supplied during the transfer, requesting and obtaining supporting information where necessary, and making decisions on entitlement. It also included Decision Team Managers who manage the Case Managers and are responsible, among other things, for quality assuring their work and keeping them up to date with any changes to policy or processes. All staff taking part in Phase Two of the research had worked on ADP case transfer reviews only.

Data analysis

The analysis of the qualitative data took a systematic, thematic approach that was intended to produce findings that are transparent, methodologically robust, and are clearly grounded in participants’ accounts. Our analysis included the following stages:

• After fieldwork was complete, the research team held an analysis meeting, during which we discussed the key themes that had emerged.
• We summarised each interview, using notes and transcripts, into a thematic ‘framework matrix’ produced in Excel. This framework showed individual participants along the rows and themes/discussion guide topics down the columns.
• Each theme/topic was then analysed. Researchers looked at the range of issues that had emerged and at any clear differences between participant groups e.g., between ADP and CDP clients, those reporting a change of circumstances and those due a review.

Limitations of the research

The opt-in approach limited our ability to reach certain groups, for example CDP clients who transferred over the age of 15.5 and DLA/PIP clients who had undergone a review and received an outcome at the time of fieldwork. Although Phase Two fieldwork was intended to focus on those who had been through a review and received an outcome, in the end it included those at different stages of the review element of the process, from waiting to receive a review pack, to having submitted their forms and awaiting an outcome, through to receiving an outcome. Of the 27 PIP and DLA clients interviewed in Phase Two, 15 had received an outcome.

The opt-in approach to recruitment is also likely to have biased the sample to those more willing to take part in research and those more able to deal with administrative tasks (including people with higher levels of literacy; those less severely affected by their own or their child’s condition, whether physical or mental; and those with more resource or means to take part).

Our sample contains no case transfer clients who reported receiving a reduction in award or stopping of an award following a review.

A note on the reporting and reading of qualitative findings

The findings are based on qualitative data so the report avoids the use of quantifying language (including terms such as ‘most’ or ‘a few’) as far as possible, since the purpose of qualitative data is to identify the range of views and experiences on an issue, rather than to estimate prevalence.

For clarity, the findings from the case transfer and review elements of the process have been presented in separate chapters in this report. However, it should be noted that clients did not always draw this distinction between the different elements in how they described the process, particularly when their transfer had been triggered by a change in circumstances. It was therefore not always clear whether a client was talking about an event during the transfer process or an event during the review process. This is highlighted at appropriate points in the report, with only findings which were clearly about transfer or the review covered in the respective chapters.

All case transfer clients are Social Security Scotland clients but for the purposes of distinguishing between clients transferring from different benefits, this is often shortened to ‘PIP client’ or ‘DLA client’.