Scottish Welfare Fund Statistics: Annual Update: 2021-22

Processing Times

86% of Community Care Grant applications were processed within the target time of 15 working days in 2021-22. This is an increase of two percentage points compared to 2020-21 (Table 14, Chart 4). In the latest quarter, processing times varied by local authority, from 33% in Aberdeen City to 100% in eight local authorities: Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Na-h Eileanan Siar, Midlothian, North Ayrshire and Orkney (Table 15). Processing was affected in some areas by additional pressures due to high numbers of applications for self-isolation support grants.

93% of Crisis Grant applications were processed within the target time of the next working day in 2021-22, one percentage point less than 2020-21 (Table 17, Chart 5). In the latest quarter, processing times varied from 52% in West Lothian to 100% in three local authorities: Argyll & Bute, Na-h Eileanan Siar and Inverclyde (Table 18).

A chart showing the variation in processing times for Community Care Grant applications within each local authority is included in the separate tables file that accompanies this publication (Chart 4b). This chart illustrates that as well as there being a variation in the proportion of applications processed on time between local authorities (Tables 15), there can be considerable variation within local authorities. For example, Chart 4b shows that for Community Care Grants since April 2013, the median processing time (or the middle value of processing times if all applications were ranked from highest to lowest) was lower than the target of 15 working days. However, 95% of applications took up to around 26 days to process, with 5% of applications taking longer than this.

There is much lower variation in processing times for Crisis Grants. Since April 2013, the median processing time (or the middle value of processing times if all applications were ranked from highest to lowest) for all local authorities has been either the same or next working day.

It is possible that cases are currently missing from the dataset used to produce this publication due to delays in processing, or due to cases being awarded in principle or 'pending' on local authority systems. It is therefore possible that estimates of the proportion of cases processed within target times could change for the latest quarter once these cases are received.