Child Winter Heating Assistance: evaluation report - qualitative research

Appendix 1: Discussion Guide

Introduction (5 minutes)

• Interviewer Introduction
• Explain purpose of Interview
  • Axiom Market Research and Consultancy are working with the Scottish Government to conduct research on the Child Winter Heating Assistance payment. The research will help Scottish Government better understand your experience of receiving the payment and find out more about how the payment has been used. The research will help Scottish Government understand how the CWHA payment helps people across Scotland and how the service can be improved.
• All comments made are strictly confidential and no one from Social Security Scotland, or the Scottish Government will ever see your individual views. Taking part will not affect any outstanding applications or benefits you’re receiving.
• There are no right or wrong answers, only personal opinions
• Interview will be recorded for internal analysis purposes only – no one but the researcher will have access to the recording
• Interview will typically last 45 minutes and no longer than an hour
• If Parent or Carer
  • If you need to pause the interview at any time to care for your child/children just let me know and we’ll call you back to complete the interview.

Discussion topics (45 minutes)

Experience of CWHA

• Can I just check when you received the CWHA payment?
  • Winter 21/22
  • Winter 20/21
  • Received both payments
• Did you receive payment for more than one member of your family? (this winter? / last winter? / both times?)
• When you received the payment, what did you think the payment was for?
• Why do you think you were eligible for the payment?
• How clear would you say you were about what the payment could be used for?

Pre-payment Communication

• Did you receive any information from Social Security Scotland to let you know that you were going to receive the payment this winter?
• What information did you receive?
  • If yes -What were your initial impressions of the information you received?
• Was there any personal contact with Social Security Scotland staff
  • If yes -What was your impression of the contact (positive / negative)
  • Why do you say that?
• Were you expecting to receive the CWHA payment - before you received the information from Social Security Scotland?
  • If yes … Were you counting on that money coming in this winter?
  • If yes … How has this helped you plan the household finances this winter?
• Did the information you received help you understand why you were eligible for your payment/your child’s payment?

Impact of receiving CWHA

• What were your initial thoughts when you first heard you were receiving the payment?
• How did you initially think the CWHA payment would help your family?
• Did you have any problems receiving the payment, after you received the information that you qualified for the payment?
• Was it easy to see from your bank statement what the payment was for?
• Have you kept the money aside - so you know that you have money aside to put towards your heating bill?
  • If No - Have you used the money in the way you first thought?

Specific Impacts

• Has the CWHA payment you received helped your family in any way?
  • Why do you say that?
  • If YES ….. In what way has receiving the CWHA payment helped you?
  • Probe with / (and keep asking until respondent can’t think of any additional answers)
  • Any other ways you would say?
  • When respondent can’t’ think of any additional answers, probe for:
    • The extent to which it has impacted on their ability to heat their home in winter
    • The extent to which the payment has impacted on any financial pressure associated with increased heating expenditure
    • The types of goods and services purchased
• And has the CWHA payment helped your family in the way you first thought it would?
  • Why do you say that?

Ask All

• What would have happened if you hadn’t received the CWHA payment this winter?
• Did you have any worries about meeting your heating bills this winter?
  • If Yes…… What type of worries did you have?
• Has receiving the CWHA payment helped with this?
  • If Yes … In what way has it helped?

If recipient received payment last year as well – ask

• Did the CWHA payment you received make a difference last winter?
  • If Yes …. How did it make a difference?
  • If No … Why do you say that?
• Have you used the payment differently this year?
  • If Yes – Why is that?
  • If Yes – how have you used it differently this winter?

Health & Wellbeing Benefits

• Has the CWHA payment made any difference to the type of health and care support you can provide to your child/children this winter?
• What difference has the CWHA payment made?
• Has the CWHA payment changed your child’s standard of living in any way?
  • In what way?

Improvements

• If the payment process could be done differently, what changes would you like to see?
• What month during the winter period do you think would be the best time to make the CWHA payment?
• Would you consider overall experience of receiving CWHA to be positive or negative?
  • Why do you say that?
• Overall do you feel you have been treated fairly?
• Do you have any other thoughts on how CWHA could be improved?
  • Probe for suggested improvements across the customer experience:
    • Pre-payment communication
    • Explanation of eligibility
    • Accuracy of receiving payment
    • Being treated with dignity, fairness and respect

Winding up (5 minutes)

• Summarise key views expressed during interview.
• Thank interviewees for their views and close