Disability benefits: evaluation report

Executive Summary

Background

Child Disability Payment (CDP) helps cover the extra costs of caring for a disabled or terminally ill child or young person. Those who receive CDP may be entitled to Adult Disability Payment (ADP), once they turn 16, but moving from CDP to ADP does not happen automatically and a new application for ADP must be made.

Since disability benefits were devolved to Social Security Scotland from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Scottish Government has made policy changes to the journey from CDP to ADP to improve the process^[1]. These changes intend to make the application process for disabled people and their representatives planning to move from CDP to ADP as straightforward as possible. They aim to do this by reducing barriers to applying, improving communications, and ensuring disabled people and their representatives understand their options and what is involved in the application process.

This evaluation focuses on the experiences of individuals who moved from CDP to ADP, and evaluates the extent to which the policy changes and commitments have been met.

This evaluation is part of a wider programme of work evaluating the policy impact of the devolution of disability benefits.

The evaluation largely covers the period between December 2023 to April 2024, and draws data from a number of sources including:

• Interviews with Social Security Scotland staff
• Survey of organisations
• Survey of clients and formal representatives
• Interviews with clients and formal representatives
• Social Security Scotland’s ADP Official Statistics

Key findings

Short-term outcomes

What is working well?

• Overall, the process-related outcomes of the move from CDP to ADP were experienced positively.
• Payments were largely seen as a seamless transition, where ADP payments were received at the same time as CDP payments, when people expected them.
• A majority of clients and formal representatives provided positive feedback on the letters sent by Social Security Scotland. The letters were described as helpful, clear and contributing to an improved understanding of the application process. Reminders of the need to apply were highlighted as particularly useful, and support organisations reported earlier applications since the letters have been introduced.
• Most clients and formal representatives said that they understood what was involved in applying for ADP while receiving CDP, their different options when applying, and what would happen when their application was being processed.
• Positive feedback was given on the support provided by Social Security Scotland, especially the Local Delivery service.
• Most clients and formal representatives reported a smooth transition when moving from CDP to ADP, were happy with the processing time for their application, and felt their experience in applying had been good. Participants were happy that payments could be backdated if their ADP entitlement was greater than their CDP payments.
• Over half of clients and formal representatives were reassured knowing that CDP payments would continue for a specified period of time if their ADP application was unsuccessful.
• The majority of clients and formal representatives felt that they had been treated with dignity, fairness and respect.

What are the challenges?

• Challenges were mostly experienced in areas where participants lacked understanding and felt they needed more support and reassurance.
• Although most feedback on communications was positive, some participants said that the letters needed to be clearer and more concise, or that they had received conflicting information. A few reported difficulties contacting Social Security Scotland through the telephone or online helplines. As noted above, these interviewees were likely affected by a change in regulations, an issue which has now been addressed.
• Some misunderstandings about the application process were still reported by clients and formal representatives and support organisations.
• Almost a quarter of clients and formal representatives said that they did not feel adequately supported during the application process.
• A majority of survey respondents reported feeling anxious or uncertain during the application process.
• Some clients and formal representatives felt that the need to re-apply for ADP was unfair, particularly for those with lifelong or long term conditions that are unlikely to change.

Highlights of progress towards medium-term outcomes

What is working well?

• There is evidence that barriers to applying for disability benefits are being reduced. The majority of applicants described their experience of the process as good or very good.
• Clients and formal representatives gave positive feedback on measures to improve financial stability, such as continuing CDP payments while waiting for ADP determinations, and backdating payments.
• A majority of clients and formal representatives felt that they had been treated with dignity, fairness and respect, reflecting a positive relationship with Social Security.

What are the challenges?

• Some barriers in the application process were idenitifed, including length and complexity of the application form, technical difficulties with online forms, and difficulties understanding or answering questions.

Highlights of progress towards long-term outcomes

What is working well?

• There is evidence that policy changes are contributing to the take up of benefits. Positive feedback was received on the communications sent by Social Security Scotland to clients and formal representatives, including that these communications reminded people of the need to apply for ADP and improved their understanding of the application process. Barriers to applying for benefits were also reduced through the provision of support for applicants, and offering different timings and means of applying.

What are the challenges?

• More data is needed to evidence progress towards long-term outcomes.

Recommendations for policy and practice

The recommendations discussed in this section have been identified from looking across the challenges described in the progress towards the short-, medium- and long-term outcomes. They also align with those identified in the commissioned research, building on these with evidence from other sources.

It should also be noted that some of these recommendations (i.e. two to four) relate to aspects of the benefit delivery process which are not unique to clients moving from CDP to ADP. As such, these recommendations may also apply to the delivery of Scottish benefits more widely. However, as they are based on the experiences of CDP to ADP clients specifically, this could only be confirmed by comparing findings presented in this report to those from other evaluations, which is outwith the scope of this work.

1. Consideration should be given in ways to further improve awareness and understanding of the process for clients and their representatives, especially around: timings of the application; what happens to CDP payments after the application is submitted; that CDP clients are not automatically eligible for ADP; that an individual’s payments could increase or decrease with ADP compared to CDP; and that an application is necessary.

2. Consider ways to improve the experience of applying online, such as receiving copies of the form and receipt confirmations.

3. Consider ways in which to further improve communications for clients and their representatives, specifically on timings and determinations.

4. Consider how clients and their representatives are signposted to existing forms of support, for all types of applications.

5. Strengthen evaluation of policy commitments, continue to consider the measurement and monitoring of long-term policy outcomes to ensure barriers are being addressed.