Social Security Charter Review: research findings

5. Summary of proposed changes to the Charter

This section provides an overview of the proposed changes to the Charter developed during the research process. A copy of the proposed revised Charter is at section four above. Throughout this report, the changes are referred to as “proposed changes” to reflect that the final revised Charter must be agreed by the Scottish Parliament before it is implemented.

The proposed changes were developed through an iterative process. This means that as the research progressed, ongoing changes were made to reflect the input and feedback received from stakeholder groups. The goal of this process was to build towards a final draft which would be agreed by the core client group.

During the first phase of research, researchers and officials reviewed findings to identify areas of focus which were shared with the core client group during the online workshops. Changes to the wording of commitments and the development of new commitments were drafted in collaboration with the core client group. Again, these changes were agreed through an iterative process; changes were developed through workshop discussions and from suggestions from the core client group. Researchers collated and refined changes and shared back with the participants who said if they agreed, if anything was missing, or if further changes were needed.

5.1 Overview

Findings from the research show that the Charter continued to reflect values which align with the priorities of clients, staff, and partner organisations. As such, all original commitments have been retained in some form in the proposed new version. Some have retained the exact wording used in the original Charter. Some have been brought together to avoid duplication. Where commitments have been reworded, the core meaning has been retained from the original statement. A small number of new commitments have been proposed.

The original four sections of the Charter have been retained. The points below summarise the key changes in each section:

1. A people’s service: Continues to focus on how clients are treated and how Social Security Scotland and clients can work together. Restructured into five sub-sections. Some commitments previously in sections two and three have been moved to this section. A new commitment has been proposed to give clients more information about receiving support with their interactions with Social Security Scotland.

2. Processes that work: this section continues to focus the processes involved in delivering benefits. Restructured into four sub-sections covering the application and decision-making processes. Six new commitments have been proposed to outline what clients can expect from the application process.

3. A learning system: this section continues to focus on the culture of the social security system and using feedback to improve. A couple of commitments previously in other sections have been moved to this section. Three new commitments have been proposed to provide more information about ongoing research with clients, communicating performance and working with the Scottish Commission on Social Security.

4. A better future: this section covers the role of government. Fewer revisions overall. Restructured into three sub-sections. One new commitment proposed about providing information about social security at community locations.

The sections below provide more information about the proposed changes grouped under three themes: changes to the structure, updates to the language, and changes to commitments to reflect the priorities of the stakeholder groups. The final sections outlines additional ‘useful information’ identified by participants and concerns about how this is communicated to clients. Examples of changes are used below to illustrate revisions but are not exhaustive. Charter commitments, both original and proposed, are presented in boxes.

5.2 Structure

The proposed revised Charter remains divided into four sections. New sub-headings have been added to group commitments relating to similar themes. There has also been some movement of commitments between sections compared to the original Charter. The core client group agreed that this helped improve the flow of the Charter and made the focus of each section clearer.

The wording of the sub-headings has been updated to make it clear who is responsible for delivering the commitments under each theme. In the original Charter, each section began with an introductory line stating who was responsible for delivering the commitments listed in the section. For each of the first three sections, this was both the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland. It is proposed these are updated to name Social Security Scotland in sections one and two then both organisations in section three. These introductory lines have also been used in the proposed new sub-sections to give a little more detail about how each sub-section relates to the overall theme of the section.

Sub-sections have been added to sections two and three to outline how clients can help Social Security Scotland to deliver its service. These “you can help us by” sub-sections mirror the “please help us by” sub-section in the first section of the original Charter. These sections illustrate how clients can help Social Security Scotland deliver processes and be a learning system.

Compared to the original Charter, section two has more proposed restructuring than the other sections. The commitments in this section now focus on clients’ application journey, reflecting the priorities raised by clients throughout the research.

5.3 Language

The language used in the Charter has been updated to use more active words in the present tense. This reflects that Social Security Scotland has now been operating for five years and it is no longer helpful to talk about service delivery in the future tense. For example, ‘work with’ has been replaced by ‘working with’ and ‘use’ has been replaced by ‘using’.

The words and phrases used to describe Social Security Scotland processes have also been updated to align with agency language. This includes replacing the word ‘assessments’ with ‘consultations’ and the phrase ‘face to face’ with ‘in-person’. Other terms have been introduced which are used in social security policy and by Social Security Scotland such as, ‘health and social care practitioners’ and ‘Short-term Assistance’. Participants in the core client group were particularly positive about the change from ‘staff’ to ‘colleagues’ in commitments about Social Security Scotland officials. Participants said the new term felt inclusive.

Advice from Social Security Scotland communications colleagues has been used to improve the overall readability of the proposed changes. This helps to make sure the Charter is as easy to read as possible and reflects the tone and ‘voice’ clients are familiar with from Social Security Scotland. For example, contractions have been used such as ‘we’ll’ and ‘we’re’.

5.4 Reflecting key priorities

Updates to the wording of commitments, and the introduction of new commitments, reflects the priorities described by clients, staff and partner organisations.

A key priority was to provide clients with more information on what they can expect from the social security system. As well as updates to language to align with Social Security Scotland terminology, new commitments have been proposed which outline the application journey. These commitments elaborate on an original commitment which said clients would be supported to make applications and updated throughout the process. The original commitment and examples of the new commitments are below.

Commitment 1.4 Support you through your application, keeping you updated and explaining what will happen and why.

Proposed new commitment: Supporting you to complete an application in a way that suits you for example, online, over the phone or in-person if appropriate.

Proposed new commitment: Introducing ways to update you on the progress of your application and expected timelines, including if things might take a bit longer.

The original commitment covered multiple aspects of the application process. The proposed new commitments set out more detail on what clients can expect at each stage of the process. Throughout the research, clients said that updates would help ease uncertainty and concern about the progress of applications. More detail on how clients are supported to make applications was a priority for many clients from seldom heard groups.

Accountability was also a recurring theme across the research findings. Clients, staff and partner organisations all said it was vital that the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland could be held to account for delivering the Charter commitments. This included by providing information about performance and using feedback to make improvements. It also included making it clearer how clients can raise issues if their rights aren’t met and provide views about their experience. Updates have been proposed which address these issues. For example, revisions have been proposed to an original commitment about how clients can give feedback. The original and revised commitments are below.

Commitment: Telling us how you feel about the service. We always want to get better and your ideas can help us do that.

Proposed revision: Telling us how you feel about the service. We always want to get better, and your ideas can help us do that. Details of how to do this are at the start of the Charter.

The addition of new wording directs clients to the introduction of the Charter where details are listed about how to get in touch with Social Security Scotland. The revised commitment has also been moved to a new “you can help us by” sub-section in Section three: A learning system.

Another example of where revisions have been proposed to provide further detail on accountability are commitments related to the Charter Measurement Framework. The original and revised commitments are below.

Commitment 4.15 Develop ways of measuring how we are doing against the commitments in Our Charter.

Proposed revision: Measuring each year how we are delivering the commitments in Our Charter and taking lessons learnt from this into future improvements to our services.

The original statement reflected a commitment to develop and implement a measurement framework which would go on to be designed the following year. The proposed revisions to the commitment update the wording to the present tense and add detail about how performance feeds into continuous improvement.

Related to accountability, findings showed that how commitments are delivered was another important priority. For example, the core client group agreed that it was helpful to add detail to the original commitment about recruiting a Social Security Scotland workforce that cares about delivering a service in line with values. The original and revised commitments are below.

Commitment 1.12 Recruit people who care about delivering a service based on equality, respect, dignity and human rights.

Proposed revision: Including requirements in our recruitment criteria and questions to make sure we recruit people who care about delivering a service based on dignity, fairness and respect.

Clients said it was important to know what “recruit people” meant in practice. The group agreed the proposed rewording made it clearer for people to understand how this commitment would be delivered in practice. The wording had also been updated to reflect Social Security Scotland’s motto, ‘Dignity, Fairness, and Respect’.

Issues related to the theme of communication were another priority for clients, staff and partner organisations. Some revisions have been proposed to make it clearer how communication needs are supported. An example of this is an update to an original commitment about adapting communication to meet client needs. The original and revised commitments are below.

Commitment 2.3 Adapt processes and ways of communicating as much as we reasonably can to meet your needs and preferences, for example by providing interpreters.

Proposed revision: Providing information in different formats and languages and communication with you in ways that meet your needs as much as we can. For example, by providing interpreters.

The proposed revisions give clients more details about what they can expect from communication with Social Security Scotland. This was highlighted as especially important by participants from seldom heard groups, including those who have English as a second language.

A final example of where changes have been made to reflect priorities identified from the research relates to information about support for clients. This includes support to engage with Social Security Scotland as well as links with other forms of support that may help clients. A new commitment has been proposed to provide clients with information about how others can support their interactions with Social Security Scotland. The proposed new commitment is below.

Proposed new commitment: If you want someone, or an organisation, to support you with your application or contact with us, with your permission we’ll make this as straightforward as possible.

This commitment reflects feedback from staff, partner organisations and members of the Research Advisory Group. Social Security Scotland must collect permission from clients to discuss their details with other individuals or organisations. The commitment reflects this part of the process and also an intention from Social Security Scotland to make the process as easy as possible for clients.

5.5 Summary of additional information for clients

Clients who took part in the research identified the need for additional information to help support clients when reading the Charter. The sections below provide an overview of the information participants said they would like to see included.

5.5.1 Glossary

The core client group agreed a list of terms and phrases used in the proposed Charter where it would be helpful to see further information to help explain what they mean in practice.

These were:

• Benefit Take-up Strategy
• Consultation
• Decision making team
• Health and Social Care Practitioner
• Independent organisation
• Local services
• National Outcomes
• Referral
• Related benefits
• Short-term Assistance
• Social Security Independent Advocacy Service
• Supporting information
• Value for money

5.5.2 Information about Social Security Scotland processes

Information about key processes was also suggested by the core client group. This would be visual information such as flowcharts or process maps. The processes below were identified as part of these discussions:

• Application process
• Process from receiving benefits that do not need an application
• Consultation process
• Re-determination and appeals processes

5.5.3 Helpful links

The core client group agreed a list of links which they thought would be useful to include in the Charter. The introduction of the original Charter contains information about how social security is delivered. An asterisk* indicates where this information was previously, or could be, provided in the introduction of the Charter. The suggested links were:

• Eligibility checkers
• Links to other organisations that can provide support e.g. Welfare Rights and Citizens Advice
• How to get in touch with Social Security Scotland*
• How to provide feedback or make a complaint*
• How the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland measure how they are performing against Our Charter*
• The Social Security Principles*

5.6 Communicating the additional information

The core client group raised a number of questions about how the information would be communicated with clients. Regarding additional information overall, participants were concerned about how the information could be provided without making the Charter document too long.

Participants were keen to know how it would be indicated that a term or phrase was included in the glossary. For example, bold or underlined text, or a hyperlink. There was also a concern about how any additional information would be included in different formats of the Charter. For example, if hyperlinks were used, there was a concern about what this would mean for paper copies of the Charter. One participant said with regards to presentation “the more visual the better”. Others said it was important the information was easy to understand and took into account the range of client needs.

Views were ultimately mixed on whether additional information was necessary and how it should be presented. There was general support for both the glossary of terms and helpful links. Findings were less clear about whether information on processes was needed. This echoed concerns raised by staff involved in providing ongoing feedback to the review process. There were concerns about the information becoming out of date and about how it could take into account different benefits and individual circumstances. Some participants also said that the proposed revised and new commitments in Section two: Processes that work provided sufficient detail about Social Security Scotland’s processes. Participants also said it was important not to dilute the intended purpose of the Charter to focus on values and rights.