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

Methodology

The 'About Your Benefits and You' survey was carried out between July and September 2017. The survey was multi mode with panel members being able to complete the survey online, in hard copy or over the phone. This included offering respondents a choice of language to complete in and a range of other accessible formats. The survey was for adults, over the age of 16.

The expeirence panels are longitudinal so information from the 'About Your Benefits and You' survey was added to infomation collected during the registration phase 'Have Your Say', including postcode, accessibility requirements and information about the benefits that respondents have experience of.

'About Your Benefits and You' asked respondents about their present and past experience of applying for, getting, challenging and appealling:

• Disabilty Living Allowance ( DLA)
• Personal Independence Payments ( PIP)
• Attendance Allowance ( AA)
• Severe Disablement Allowance ( SDA)
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit ( IIDB)
• Carer's Allowance ( CA)
• Funeral Expenses Payments ( FEP)
• Sure Start Maternity Grants ( SSMG)
• Cold Weather Payments ( CWP)
• Winter Fuel Payments ( WFP)
• Discretionary Housing Payments ( DHP)
• Scottish Welfare Fund ( SWF)
• Universal Credit ( UC)

Respondents answered both in relation to their experience of applying themselves, and their experience of helping others. Respondents were asked to rate their overall experience from 'very good' to 'very poor', and were asked to provide their top three priorities for Scottish Government to improve in the new social security system. They were also asked a series of qualitative questions relating to their experience which will be analysised and reported on at a later date.

Respondents were also asked basic demographic information about their age, gender, disabilties and long term health conditions, caring responsibilities, and the make-up of their household. A full list of questions is provided in annex A.

Following data cleaning, 1,144 experience panel members completed the 'About Your Benefits and You' survey. This combined dataset is reported here after analysis by Scottish Government researchers. Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number so percentages may not always add up to exactly 100%.

The data has not been weighted as publicly available information about a comparible population is not available. The information provided in this report must therefore be understood as being representative of the views of these respondents.