The Impact of Welfare Reform in Scotland - Tracking Study - Appendices to Sweep 3 Report

APPENDIX 3 INTERVIEW SCHEDULE – SWEEP 3

The Impact of Welfare Reform in Scotland: Questionnaire, Sweep 3

Thank you for agreeing to speak to us again. We appreciate the time you have given us so far.

We would like to remind you that this is a 3 year research project and, as long as you agree and are happy for us to do so, you will be contacted twice a year to take part in an interview for the project. The next sweeps are scheduled for:

• April-June 2015 (Sweep 4)
• September-November 2015 (Sweep 5)
• April-June 2016 (Sweep 6)

Just to remind you that taking part in this study, at all stages, is completely voluntary. Everything you say will be kept confidential. When we write our report or any academic papers, we will not use any real names or give information that might identify you as the person who has told us these things.

Also you can stop at any point, or decline to answer any particular question that you are not comfortable with. Because of the nature of this research it is possible that we might touch on periods or events in your life which are quite personal, so please feel free to let us know if you would rather not talk about any issue, or if you would prefer to change the subject or to not answer particular questions.

We would, again, like to record the interview if that is ok, so that we can remember everything that you have told us today. Are you happy for us to record this interview or would you prefer us not to?

Ask participant to sign consent form.

As before we have a £10 voucher to compensate for your travel and any other expenses you may have incurred taking part in the study.

Ask participant to sign voucher receipt form.

Do you have any questions before we start?

Details for the interviewer to complete

Date of interview:

Interviewer:

Location of interview:

Persons present (apart from the interviewer and the main interviewee):

[Interviewer: Focus on the qualitative responses. Closed questions/coding is for limited analysis]

Section 1: Participant and Household Background

I’d like to start by asking about any changes to your household since our last meeting.

1. Since the last interview have there been any changes in who is in your household?

a. Probe: Anyone moved in; anyone moved out; children born; changes to partnership status

b. For new household members: relationship to interviewee, age, sex

2. Has there been any change to the type of accommodation that your household lives in?

a. Probe: If yes – is this new accommodation owned, rented (if so private, council, housing association), or another tenure type?

b. Probe: If yes – how do you feel about this new accommodation? (Area, number of rooms, why they moved, etc.)

Section 2: Employment and training/education

Note to interviewer: These questions are to ascertain changes in people’s circumstances. If there has been no change please move on quickly to next set of questions to avoid covering old ground.

3. Have you been involved in any training or education or achieved any new qualifications since the last interview?

• If no – have you wanted to do any training or education but been unable to? If unable – why were you not able to do this?

4. If in employment at the last interview: Are you still employed?

• If yes, is this the same job, or have you moved jobs? How many hours per week are you working at the moment, and is this the number of hours you would like to work?
• If new job, probe: How did find this job? Did anyone help you to find this job (If yes – who? e.g. Jobcentre Plus, Work Programme, other organisation, personal contact? If not through Jobcentre/Work Programme, but has had contact with these – how useful did you find them?)

OR if not in employment at the last interview: Have you been involved in any paid work since we last spoke?

• Probe: if new job since last interview – job title, how long in job, permanent or temporary, hours per week (incl. if zero hours), if part-time is this through choice, take home pay
• Probe: How did find this job? Did anyone help you to find this job (If yes – who? e.g. Jobcentre Plus, Work Programme, other organisation, personal contact?)

Are other people in your household still (un)employed?

5. If currently not in work: Are you seeking work?

• Probe: Is seeking work a condition of your benefits (JSA or WRAG)? Do you have any (other) conditions to fulfil?
• Is anyone helping you to find work (If YES – who? e.g. Jobcentre Plus, Work Programme, other organisation, personal contact?)
• What is the type of work you are looking for?
• Do you face any constraints that affect your ability to find working? Prompt: Availability of suitable jobs locally, health/child’s health problem, transport, confidence, low hours/low pay, housing, experience, welfare benefits, childcare, etc.

6. If currently employed: Do you face any constraints that affect your ability to keep working?

• Prompt: Health/child’s health problem, transport, confidence, low hours/low pay, negative experiences/atmosphere at work, housing, experience, welfare benefits, childcare, etc.

Section 3: Income and Financial information

Note to interviewer: These questions are to ascertain changes in people’s circumstances. If there has been no change please move on quickly to next set of questions to avoid covering old ground.

Now I’d like to ask you a few questions about your household income and how you’re getting by financially.

7. Since the last interview have there been any changes to the benefits you are getting?

[Interviewer: Consult list of benefits and any anticipated changes to benefits mentioned in last interview. Where a change is mentioned prompt about the effect on the participant and the household]

• Are you in receipt of new benefits? – If YES what are the differences between what you receive now and what you received previously? Are you happy with the change? How easy or difficult was the process of getting this new benefit? Did you get any help with applying for this new benefit?
• Have you stopped receiving some benefits? Were the changes due to a change in your actual circumstances or due to administrative issues/reforms?
• Have you made any applications since the last interview that are still being processed?
• Have you received any sanctions? If so – what was the reason, and what were the effects of these sanctions on you?
• If you have not been sanctioned – are you worried about being sanctioned in the future and how does the possibility of sanctions influence what you do?

8. Since we last spoke, have there been any changes in how you and your household are managing financially?

Prompt:

• Is there anything that has happened since we last spoke which has affected your income/affected how you manage financially
• How easy have you found it to pay for basics – e.g. rent, bills, food, clothes, since we last met?
• Can you afford to go out – e.g. for a coffee, to the pub, to the cinema? How easy would you find it to pay for a present for a friend or family member?
• If mentioned debt last interview, ask if they are managing to keep up with any repayments
• Have you had to borrow money since the last interview and how often? (specify where the loan is from)

[Interviewer: Ask interviewee to summarise their response by selecting one of the below phrases]

• Manage very well
• Manage quite well
• Get by alright
• Don’t manage very well
• Have some financial difficulties
• Are in deep financial trouble
• Refused
• Don’t know

9. Are you aware of any likely changes to your benefits over the next year?

Probe: If yes – what do you think will be the effect of these on your life/the other people in your household (including children)?

Section 4: Social Networks

Note to interviewer:

The focus of this section is how services and organisations support people, and to identify lessons for how such services can be improved.

This means that if participants have received formal support, your questions should focus in bringing out in detail what happened, what worked well, what did not work well, and what could be improved.

If participants have not accessed formal support, questions should focus on understanding why this is, and what could be done to help people access what is already available.

It is also important to establish the informal support that people have available to them, and how this has helped them to deal with problems.

Questions should focus on concrete examples of how people received support.

Introduce the section: I’m now going to ask you some questions about the people and organisations that have given you help and support in recent times.

[Interviewer: Ask participant to map out all the people or organisations that helped them. This could be done visually as a picture using pen and paper, grouping people and organisations in a way that makes most sense to the interviewee. Probe fully to record all sources of support]

10. I’d like to know about your experiences of getting help and advice about benefits.

a. Are there any issues you have looked for help with?

Prompts: possible issues people may have encountered:

• Understanding welfare reforms; e.g. the re-assessment process for ESA, the move from DLA to PIP, the new requirements on lone parents, the new rules on social housing occupancy, the move to Universal Credit?
• Applying for a benefit
• Appealing a decision
• Managing a change in income (e.g. sanction, loss of entitlement under new rules)?
• Managing in the event of a benefit not being paid (either through error, or a loss of entitlement or a sanction)?
• Feeling worried about benefits or changes to your benefits?

b. Who did you go to for help? Why did you approach these people or organisations? How comfortable did you feel approaching this person or organisation for help?

Prompts: Possible sources of support:

• Friends/family/colleagues (probe: Who is this person? is this person in work? What do they do?)
• Government services, e.g. DWP, Jobcentre Plus, Scottish Welfare Fund
• Advice services, e.g. Citizens Advice Bureau, Housing association welfare support officer
• Third sector organisations: e.g. food banks, employability services,
• Social service, e.g. social worker, mental health support worker
• Online support, e.g. information website, online support group

c. What was the support you received? What did the people or organisations do?

Prompts: possible types of support

• Provided information about welfare reforms; e.g. the re-assessment process for ESA, the move from DLA to PIP, the new requirements on lone parents, the new rules on social housing occupancy, the move to Universal Credit?
• Help with applying for a benefit, filling in form
• Help appealing a decision, filling in forms, coming along to meeting
• Providing financial support to managing a change in income or benefit not being paid
• Providing in kind support to managing a change in income or benefit not being paid
• Told you about other sources of support, referred to other services
• Emotional support, reassurance

d. What was the outcome? Was your problem resolved (completely or in part)? If problem not resolved - what help did you still need to help you solve your problem? What sort of help would you have wished there to have been?

e. (If received help from formal service) How did you find out about this service? What was it about what they did that worked well? What could they have done differently? How did staff at the service treat you? How comfortable did you feel approaching the organisation(s) for support?

f. (If used formal service only) if [service you used] was not available, is there a friend/family member/colleague you could ask for help? If yes – is this person in work? What do they do? How comfortable would you feel about approaching this person for help?

g. (If received help from friend/family member/colleague) What was it about what they did that worked well? What could they have done differently? What help would you have needed to help you solve your problem?

h. (If only got support from friends/family/colleagues – or no support at all) Do you know of any services or organisations that could have helped you?

• (if aware of services) Why did you not approach them for help?

Prompts: possible reasons:

• transport,
• availability/timing of appointments,
• unable to go to services because of caring responsibilities,
• confidence in approaching service,
• not wanting to ask for handout
• What would have to change for you to be able to/want to access this kind of service?
• (if not aware of services) What would be the best way of making people in your situation aware of the help available?

11. The last time you had/if you had problems with money or getting by financially…

a. Who did/would you go to for help? (If has experienced a problem – what was the problem? Focus on real examples where possible.)

Prompts: Possible sources of support:

• Friends/family/colleagues
• Scottish Welfare Fund, for crisis grant or community care grant
• Social Fund, e.g. for budgeting loan
• Third sector organisations: e.g. food banks
• Social service, e.g. social worker
• Credit union
• Commercial money lender, e.g. bank, short-term money lender

b. What kind of help did/would you look for from these people/organisations? (Probe for sources of help that may not have solved the problem but helped in other ways, e.g. emotional support to cope with money worries).

Prompts: possible things

• Financial support, e.g. gave or lent money
• Emotional support, e.g. chance to talk it over
• Practical support, e.g. looked after children to give a break
• Provided information, helped you with budgeting, told you about other sources of support

c. How comfortable did/would you feel about approaching these people/organisations?

d. (If has experienced a problem) What was the outcome? (If money loaned) How are you managing to pay it back? (If emotional support) Did you feel better after you sought help?

12. I’d like to ask some questions about different kinds of contact with people…

[Interviewer: probe for category – daily, 2 or 3 times a week, weekly, fortnightly, monthly or less, never.]

• How frequently do you meet with friends outside your household?
• How frequently do you chat to friends outside your household over the telephone?
• How frequently do you contact friends outside your household using social media (like Facebook …)?
• How does your social circle/frequency of contact with your social circle compare to five years ago?

13. Do you feel that your social circle has changed since you started to claim benefits? If so – how?

Prompt:

• If on benefits for a long time – has it changed over time as you have been on benefits?
• Are there ways in which being on benefits has helped or hindered you in maintaining social contact with people?

Note to interviewer: These questions are to ascertain changes in people’s circumstances. If there has been no change please move on quickly to next set of questions to avoid covering old ground.

14. Has your physical health changed since our last interview?

• Probe for own, personal account of wellbeing here
• Prompt: Is it better or worse?

15. Has your mental and emotional health changed since last interview?

• Probe for own, personal account of wellbeing here
• Prompt: Is it better or worse?

16. Can you please summarise by rating your overall wellbeing since we last spoke?

• Very poor
• Poor
• Managing OK
• Well
• Very well

17. Since the last interview has there been any change to the health of other people in your household? What were they?

18. Is there anything else that we have not covered and that you would like to discuss?