Adult Disability Payment: Independent Review - interim report

Progress to date

Appointment of Chair and Inception of the Review

In January 2024, I was appointed as the Chair of the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment. This marked the official commencement of a comprehensive review process dedicated to evaluating the effectiveness and impact of Adult Disability Payment in Scotland. In February 2024, the review officially began with the support of a dedicated secretariat, initiating a detailed and structured project plan.

Project Planning and Framework Establishment

The initial stages of the review involved extensive project planning, which included defining the principles and values guiding my approach. Central to my way of working is a commitment to transparency, accessibility, inclusivity, and fairness. I established a robust methodology to ensure that the review process is thorough and reflective of the diverse experiences and needs of Adult Disability Payment applicants and recipients.

Chair’s Preparatory Work

I dedicated several weeks to essential reading and research to gain a comprehensive understanding of the history of devolved social security benefits in Scotland. This included an in-depth review of the legislative and fiscal context, as well as the Scottish Government's vision for social security. This foundational knowledge was crucial for conducting an informed and insightful review.

Literature Review and Identification of Focus Areas

A comprehensive literature review was undertaken to identify existing gaps and areas requiring further focus. This process included examining the existing report from the consultation on the mobility component of Adult Disability Payment^[8] and evaluating previous work on the use of Supporting Information^[9] and the evaluation of Case Transfer^[10] published as part of the Disability Benefits Evaluation Strategy.

The insights gained from the literature review have been instrumental in shaping the consultation and call for evidence.

Establishment of the Advisory Group

To ensure that the Review is guided by a diverse range of perspectives, I established an Advisory Group. This group comprises ten members, many of whom have a disability or mental health condition and have lived experience of applying for Adult Disability Payment. The group also includes representatives from third-sector organisations.

The Advisory Group plays a pivotal role in providing guidance, expertise, and scrutiny to ensure the effectiveness, fairness, and integrity of the review. They offer advice to the Chair on the approach, methodology, and engagement strategies, and help facilitate access to a wide range of audiences.

Stakeholder Engagement

For the purposes of this report, I use the term stakeholders in its widest sense, to include disabled people and third sector stakeholders that I have met with so far.

Effective stakeholder engagement is a cornerstone of my review process. I have conducted comprehensive stakeholder mapping and held numerous meetings with a wider audience including the Scottish Government, Social Security Scotland and the UK Government.

Intersectionality plays a crucial role in understanding and addressing the diverse needs of individuals who apply for Adult Disability Payment in Scotland. The concept of intersectionality recognises that people’s experiences of disability are influenced by multiple overlapping factors such as race, gender, socioeconomic status, and other identities. I have aimed to engage with a diverse range of seldom-heard groups and will continue to do so as part of the next stage of the Review to ensure intersectionality is properly considered as part of the client experience.

Consultation Fatigue

We need to be conscious of the consultation fatigue experienced by some people with lived experience and those from third sector organisations. Some seldom heard groups have a distrust of the state and in some engagement meetings it was necessary to stress repeatedly the independence of the Review.

Many third sector organisations told me that they are operating in difficult financial circumstances and as a result, they must make careful decisions about where to dedicate resources.

In choosing to dedicate time, resource and attention to this review they wanted to be assured that any outcome would ultimately make a positive difference. People want to know what changes will come about because of the Review. I was told frequently that people and organisations are growing tired of repeated consultations with little evident change to the system which damages trust and results in disengagement.

Consultation and Call for Evidence

The call for evidence and consultation, ran between 28 June 2024 and 30 August 2024 and provided an opportunity to conduct a ‘deep dive’ into people’s experiences of Adult Disability Payment. This research forms only one part of on-going engagement with me and provided an opportunity to explore in-depth experiences of seldom heard voices and seldom heard communities in addition to allowing stakeholder organisations to contribute to the Review and discuss possible ways forward.

All materials produced for the public consultation were designed to be as accessible as possible, including formats such as easy read, translations into languages other than English, and British Sign Language (BSL) versions.

I received an encouraging number of responses - 84 to the consultation and 33 to the call for evidence. These responses are currently being collated and analysed.

In addition, we held in-person consultation events across the country facilitated by The Lines Between who have been appointed to carry out the collation and analysis of the findings. On-line consultation events were available for those who found travelling to a venue too difficult. Overall, the events attracted 46 attendees, and I am very grateful to them for contributing to this Review.