Scottish social security system - seldom-heard groups: research

Appendix B: Evidence summaries

Sickness and Disability Benefits Summary

Prevalence in Scotland’s population:

• Benefits are the main source of income for 60% of people (in UK) living with terminal illness ^[15]
• 25% of working-age terminally ill people spend the last year of their lives in poverty (UK)^[32]
• Poverty rate (2017-20 Scotland) was 23% in disabled households (17% non-disabled) ^[50]
• Poverty rate (2019-22 Scotland) was 24% (550,000 people) for disabled households ^[22]
• 20% of workers in Scotland on persistently low pay are disabled ^[20]
• 27% single parent households have a disabled adult, 16% have at least 1 disabled child ^[90]
• 100,000 children in disabled families in Scotland live in relative poverty, 80,000 live in absolute poverty ^[54]

Intersecting characteristics increasing risk of marginalisation from the social security system:

• Working age ^[32]
• Carers ^[46]
• Terminal illness (especially among working-age, women, families with children, minority ethnic groups, private rented housing, carers)^[33,32]
• Minority ethnic groups (non-white minorities and immigrant groups)^[25,32,50]
• Rural dwellers^[25]
• Single parents ^[90]
• Gypsy/Traveller or Roma groups ^[36,50]

Devolved benefit entitlements:

• Adult Disability Payment
• Child Disability Payment
• Young Carer Grant
• Discretionary Housing Payment
• Council Tax Reduction
• Winter Heating Payment
• Scottish Welfare Fund
• Funeral Support Payment
• Budgeting Loan
• Carer’s Allowance Supplement
• Housing adaptations
• Transport fare concessions

Reserved benefit entitlements:

• Universal Credit
• Carer’s Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Support for Mortgage Interest
• Cost of living payment

Take-up rates:

• Funeral Support Payment: 61% take-up (2022/23) ^[39]
• Billions of Universal Credit unclaimed ^[12]
• Proportions of claims awarded both Daily Living and Mobility components and enhance rate awards are falling ^[41]
• Carer’s Allowance: £2 billion unclaimed ^[12]
• 26% of people fitting the DWP definition of disabled described themselves as disabled ^[16]
• Attendance Allowance – 30% of home care recipients don’t get AA (~14,500 people) ^[34]

Barriers to claiming:

• Fear, embarrassment and stigma ^{[12,41,49, 50]}
• Complexity ^{[12,16,41,49,50]}
• Lack of support ^[41,49]
• Fragmentation of support ^[12,41,49]
• Lack of awareness ^[12,38,41]
• Disabled people not considering themselves disabled/carers not identifying as carers ^[16,38,41]
• Lack of trust ^{[41, 54]}
• Passporting ^[54]
• ‘Double stigma’ among minority ethnic groups – finances and mental health stigma ^[50]
• Distrust of authorities among minority ethnic groups ^[50,55,71]
• Lack of/poor quality translation services ^[40,55]
• Confusion caused by having two systems (DWP and Social Security Scotland) ^[89]
• Difficulties in collecting evidence for a claim ^[41]

Enablers to claiming:

• Change messaging to reduce stigma ^[12,41]
• Independent advocacy ^{[16, 41]}
• Co-located services ^[38]
• Plain English communications ^[38,41]
• Culturally adapted and culturally appropriate support ^[50]
• Joined-up systems that talk to each other ^[89]
• Personalised one-stop advice ^[34]
• Welfare rights advice in primary healthcare settings ^[83,85,87]

Older Adults Benefits Summary

Prevalence in Scotland’s population:

• 1.1 million people aged 65 and over (20% of population)^[22,30]
• 12% living in persistent poverty (~120,000 people)^[22]
• 10% living in absolute poverty (~100,000 people)^[22]
• Regional variation: highest number of over 65s in Argyll & Bute/lowest in Glasgow City^[22]

Intersecting characteristics increasing risk of marginalisation from the social security system:

• Female (23% in relative poverty)^[22]
• Single households^[22,29]
• Minoritised ethnicity^[29,50]
• Rural location^[19,29]
• Disability or ill-health^[80]
• Living in private rented housing^[29]
• Aged over 75^[80]

Devolved benefit entitlements:

• Discretionary Housing Payment
• Council Tax Reduction
• Winter Heating Payment
• Scottish Welfare Fund
• Funeral Support Payment
• Budgeting Loan

Reserved benefit entitlements:

• State Pension
• Housing Benefit
• Pension Credit (passporting benefit)
• Winter Fuel Payment
• Carer’s Allowance
• Attendance Allowance
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Support for Mortgage Interest
• Free NHS dental treatment
• Voucher towards glasses/contact lenses

Take-up rates:

• Pension Credit: ~123,000 eligible households not claiming (Scotland)^[80]
• Housing Benefit for older people: 86% take-up (UK)^[107]
• Attendance Allowance: underclaimed by Home Care clients (~14,500 not claiming)^[34]
• Funeral Support Payment: 61% take-up^[39]

Enablers to claiming:

• Change messaging to reduce stigma^[108]
• Tailored support delivered in-person, over the phone, online,^[29,30]
• Long-running take-up campaigns^[80]
• Delivering information in health and social care settings^[29,80]
• Change of circumstances (e.g., bereavement) triggers a ‘tell us once’ service^[80]
• Increased automatic payment^[29,109]
• Joined-up services that talk to each other^[29,80,109]

Barriers to claiming:

• Stigma^{[30,53,80,109]}
• Complexity^[110]
• Lack of awareness of benefit or eligibility^[67]
• Access due to physical/environmental barriers^[30,50,80]

Children and Families Benefits Summary

Prevalence in Scotland’s population:

• Large families = 12% of families (2018)^[92]
• Kinship care = 34% of looked after children (2022)^[111]
• Disabled households = 16% (2019); 42% of children in relative poverty have a disabled person in the household (2023)^[112]
• Ethnic minority households = 39% of children in ethnic minority households in poverty (2019-22)^[113]
• Families with young children = 34% in relative poverty, 30% in absolute poverty (2017/20)^[114]
• Lone parents = 25% of all families (2019) 20% of children in relative poverty are in a lone parent household (2023)^[115,116]
• Mothers under 25 = 55% of children in these households were in relative poverty (2015-2018, compared to 24% of children overall)^[54,117]

Intersecting characteristics increasing risk of marginalisation from the social security system:

• 6 child poverty priority groups:^[54]
  • Disabled households
  • Ethnic minority households
  • Families with young children (under 1 yr) (intersects with all other groups and most likely to enter poverty)
  • Large families: 42% of children in a large family have someone disabled in the household
  • Lone parents: 92% of lone parent families are headed by women (2020)
  • Mothers under 25: 44% of children in these families are also in a lone parent household
• Kinship carers: 62% kinship carers female, median age 55-59 (44% over 60); 28% caring for other adult family members^[66]

Devolved benefit entitlements:

• Best Start Grant: Pregnancy & Baby Payment
• Best Start Grant: Early Learning Payment
• Best Start Grant: School Age Payment
• Best Start Foods
• Scottish Child Payment
• Young Carer Grant
• Child Winter Heating Assistance (paid automatically for those receiving Child Disability Payment, ADP, DLA, or PIP)
• Carer’s Allowance Supplement

Reserved benefit entitlements:

• Child Benefit
• Universal Credit
• Young Patients Family Fund
• Guardian’s Allowance
• Family Fund
• Child maintenance
• Carer’s Allowance

Take-up rates (2022/23):^[39]

• Scottish Child Payment = 95%
• Best Start Grant: Pregnancy & Baby = 83%
• Best Start Grant: Early Learning = 80%
• Best Start Grant: School Age = 97%
• Best Start Foods = 92%
• Young Carer Grant = 75%

Barriers to claiming:

• Phone application time too long for Scottish Child Payment, difficulties contacting Social Security Scotland by phone for Best Start Foods^[37,68]
• Confusion over eligibility criteria^[37]
• Long waiting and not enough updates on application process given^[37,91]
• Little awareness of support for English as an Additional Language (EAL) or other literacy difficulties^[91]
• Two-child limit for some benefits^[92,93]

Enablers to claiming:

• Combined application for all of the five family payments – may apply for one, which leads them to apply for others they were previously unaware of: increases take-up^[39,68]
• Scottish Child Payment form quick and easy to complete^[118]
• Best Start Grant payment card much easier to use, reduces stigma^[91]
• Other payments direct to bank account, this was much easier for people^[91]

Working-Age Adults Benefits Summary

Prevalence in Scotland’s population:

• Unemployment in Scotland 3.2% (June 2023)^[96]
• Seasonal workers: estimated 9,255 in agriculture (2018), downward trend in 2020 and 2021 (6,570 in 2021)^[97]
• Gypsy/Travellers are the ethnic group least likely to be economically active (47%)^[98]
• Refugees: more likely to be unemployed than British citizens^[99]
• Military veterans: approx. 230,000 veterans in Scotland (2017)^[100]

Intersecting characteristics increasing risk of marginalisation from the social security system:

• Middle aged/older people: Winter Heating Payments most commonly claimed by 55-65 year olds^[101]
• Mobile populations – as a number of these benefits are housing-related, they will be missing out on these benefits by not having a permanent residence^[97,102,103]
• Women are more likely than men to be unemployed: 5.1% gender employment gap (2021)^[104]
  • 22.6% looking after family/home vs 7.9% for men
• Disabilities: disability employment gap 31.2%^[104]
• Scottish Welfare Fund: over half were single person households with no children^[105]
• Military veterans: drug and alcohol dependency, trauma^[48]
  • Most likely to be in receipt of ESA and DLA
• Inadequacy of benefits can prevent people from entering the labour market (causes deprivation, social exclusion or homelessness; can’t afford travel to job interviews or to work if employed)^[105]

Devolved benefit entitlements:

• Job Start Payment
• Discretionary Housing Payment
• Council Tax Reduction
• Winter Heating Payment (Universal Credit most common passport benefit (34%), followed by Income Related Employment Support Allowance (33%) and Pension Credit (31%))
• Scottish Welfare Fund
• Funeral Support Payment
• Budgeting Loan

Reserved benefit entitlements:

• Universal Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Support for Mortgage Interest
• Free prescriptions
• Cost of living payment
• Employment Support Allowance
• Jobseeker’s Allowance

Take-up rates:

• Funeral Support Payment: 66% take-up 2021-22; 61% 2022-23^[39]
• £7.75bn Universal Credit unclaimed (year up to April 2023)^[12]
• Job Start Payment: 29% in 2021-22; 15% 2022-23^[39]

Barriers to claiming:^[48,76]

• Barriers to accessing Universal Credit and as this is a passport benefit that is a barrier
• Complexity of benefits system
• Reliance on third sector organisations to help fill in application forms
• Limited ability to express the nuances of applicants’ situations – especially for those with fluctuating health conditions
• Staff poorly trained to deal with trauma
• Appeals process is very stressful
• Gaps in payments when transitioning from one benefit to another caused financial difficulties

Enablers to claiming:^[48,76]

• Simplification of application forms recommended by respondents
• Use of clearer language
• More training for staff to enable them to deal appropriately with applicants who have experienced trauma
• Third sector organisations (e.g. for veterans) very important in enabling applications
• The regularity and delivery method of payments has received positive feedback