Social Security Experience Panels - About Your Benefits and You: quantitative research findings

Introduction

The Scottish Government will become responsible for some of the benefits currently delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP). As part of work to prepare for this change, Scottish Government have set up the Social Security Experience Panels. The Panels will work with people who have recent experience of benefits currently delivered by DWP to help design a new social security system with the people of Scotland. The Panels will run for 4 years and is made up of over 2,400 people with recent experience across the benefits which will be devolved to Scotland.

This report summarises the main quantitative results of 'About Your Benefits and You' which was the first research activity undertaken with the Social Security Experience Panels after the recrutiment stage called 'Have Your Say' finished.

About You and Your Benefits aimed to:

• find out basic demographic information about the Panels
• capture respondents' experiences of the current social security system, including what works well and what could be improved
• ask panel members their priorities for what the Scottish Government should improve in the development and delivery of the new system

More than 1,100 panel members responded to the survey, which closed on 1 September 2017. This report provides demographic information about our respondents to inform how Scottish Government can engage with different groups when developing the new social security system. It also provides an overview of how respondents rate their experience of the exisiting system overall, and their priorities for impovement in the new system. These findings will be used to develop a work plan with the Experience Panels, based on the priorities that they have identified.

Futher reports following this one will be published which expand on the themes outlined here and the qualitative results of the 'About Your Benefits and You' research.