Service users who received financial support from Social Security Scotland (21-22): FOI release

Information requested

In terms of service users who received financial support from Social Security Scotland during the financial year 2021-22, information related to:

1. The total number of claimants awarded support

Also information on the protected characteristic data on such claimants by:

2. Sex – female and male
3. Disability – in cohorts of disabled as one cohort and not disabled as the other cohort
4. Ethnicity – in cohorts of Black Minority Ethnic as one cohort and White as the other cohort
5. Sexual orientation – in cohorts of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual as one cohort and Heterosexual as the other cohort
6. Religion or belief – in cohorts of Protestant as one cohort, Catholic as a cohort, all other religions/beliefs as a cohort and no religion as another cohort

In terms of people who applied for financial support from Social Security Scotland during the financial year 2021-22 and were refused support, information related to:

7. The total number of claimants who were refused support

Also information on the protected characteristic data on such claimants by:

8. Sex – female and male
9. Disability – in cohorts of disabled as one cohort and not disabled as the other cohort 
10. Ethnicity – in cohorts of Black Minority Ethnic as one cohort and White as the other cohort
11. Sexual orientation – in cohorts of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual as one cohort and Heterosexual as the other cohort
12. Religion or belief – in cohorts of Protestant as one cohort, Catholic as a cohort, all other religions/beliefs as a cohort and no religion as another cohort.

Response

We can provide information in response to the following parts of your request:

In terms of service users who received financial support from Social Security Scotland during the financial year 2021-22, information related to:

1. The total number of claimants awarded support

7. The total number of claimants who were refused support

Social Security Scotland publishes quarterly statistical information which includes the requested data on the number of approved and denied applications across all benefits which clients have submitted applications. These publications can be found at the link below:

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/about/statistics/social-security-scotland-statistics-publications

We cannot provide information in response to the following further parts of your request:

Information on the protected characteristic data of claimants who were awarded/refused support by:

2 and 8. Sex – female and male

3 and 9. Disability – in cohorts of disabled as one cohort and not disabled as the other cohort

4 and 10. Ethnicity – in cohorts of Black Minority Ethnic as one cohort and White as the other cohort

5 and 11. Sexual orientation – in cohorts of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual as one cohort and Heterosexual as the other cohort

6 and 12. Religion or belief – in cohorts of Protestant as one cohort, Catholic as a cohort, all other religions/beliefs as a cohort and no religion as another cohort

We publish this remaining requested information, relating to the diversity characteristics of clients, on an ongoing basis within our Official Statistics publication series, ‘Social Security Scotland client diversity and equalities analysis’.

These statistics were most recently published in September 2021 and covered a time period to May 2021. These statistics are available at the link below:

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/social-security-scotland-client-diversity-andequalities- analysis-to-may-2021

We are in the process of producing the next publication of these statistics, which will include equalities data from June 2021 up to end October 2022. The remaining information you have requested will therefore be detailed within this next publication.

We are currently carrying out the statistical work involved in preparing and analysing the equalities data for this next publication.

The completion of this work is complex as individuals can apply for more than one benefit and also apply for some benefits on more than one occasion and as this is personal and sensitive data it also has to be thoroughly cleansed and quality assured.

We expect to complete this work and produce this next publication by the end of the summer. After the next publication we intend to publish these statistics on an annual basis going forward.

Therefore based on the above activity required to provide the further information requested, in any form, at this time, would require over 40 hours labour. This means the costs of locating, retrieving and providing this remaining information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under Section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by regulations made under Section 12.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.