Social Security Charter Review: research findings

3. Background

This section covers background information on the creation and content of the Charter and the Charter Measurement Framework.

3.1 Creating the Charter and Charter Measurement Framework

The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 set out the legislative framework and the principles for how the Scottish Government would deliver social security benefits in Scotland.^[1] The Act required a charter to be created that reflected the these principles. The Act set out that the charter should be designed in consultation with people who have experience of social security and the organisations that represent them.

The Charter was created through a comprehensive co-design process. Input from prospective Social Security Scotland clients was at the heart of the process. Research included a series of workshops with a group of around 30 members of the Scottish Government Experience Panels.^[2] These participants had experience of the benefits due to be transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to Social Security Scotland. The co-design process also included input from a range of professionals who offered expertise on relevant topics, partner organisations, and a debate in the Scottish Parliament. Two research reports were published which describe the co-design process.^[3] The Scottish Social Security Charter, “Our Charter”, was approved by the Scottish Parliament and published in 2019.^[4]

After the parliamentary process to approve the Charter, work began to design a framework to monitor how the Charter commitments were being delivered. Following a similar co-design approach, a group of people with lived experience of the social security system were again at the heart of the process to design the framework. These participants were members of the Experience Panels and there was some overlap with the group who had been involved in the creation of the Charter. A research report was published which details the process of developing the framework.^[5] The Charter Measurement Framework was published in 2019.^[6]

3.2 Overview of Our Charter and Charter Measurement Framework

The Charter sets out what the social security principles mean in practice and is made up of a series of commitments to be delivered by the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland. The commitments are short statements which describe the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of the delivery of the social security system. There are around 50 commitments, grouped in four sections. An outline of each of the sections is described below:

1. A people’s service: this section covers the responsibilities of Social Security Scotland staff and clients.

2. Processes that work: this section relates to the processes involved in delivering benefits.

3. A learning system: this section focusses on the culture of the social security system.

4. A better future: this section covers the role of government.

Since it was created, Our Charter has been embedded in all aspects of the social security system. Social Security Scotland began delivering benefits in 2018 and since the beginning, the Charter has helped to shape the culture and service of the agency. For example, Social Security Scotland staff receive training to understand the Charter and their responsibilities as set out in the commitment and the Charter is available in various formats. The full range of activity to deliver the Charter commitments is reported each year in the Charter Measurement Framework.

Since 2019, the Charter Measurement Framework has been published annually by Social Security Scotland. The framework is a comprehensive list of measures relating to the commitments in Our Charter. The framework is divided into four sections that correspond with the sections of the Charter. Each section describes ideal outcomes and a list of measures which show whether these are being achieved. The framework shows how Social Security Scotland and the Scottish Government are delivering the Charter commitments and helps them improve.

Officials and analysts from the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland carry out work to monitor, report on, and evaluate how social security is being delivered in Scotland. For example, Social Security Scotland produces a range of information about how benefits are being delivered and how clients are experiencing the service.

Each year, the Charter Measurement Framework is filled in using information from these and a range of other sources. The information in the framework covers the previous financial year. To date, four frameworks have been published covering the period 2019-20 to 2022-23.^[7]