Social Security Experience Panels: legacy report

2. Background on the Social Security Experience Panels

2.1 Why were the Experience Panels started?

Following the Scottish Independence Referendum, the Scotland Act 2016 was introduced which devolved additional powers to Scotland. The Social Security (Scotland) Act was passed in 2018, which gave powers to the Scottish Government to deliver eleven social security benefits that had previously been delivered by the UK government. At the outset of this process, the Scottish Government set out some guiding principles for social security in Scotland, which committed to doing things differently in the new Scottish social security system. These included putting user experience first and following a human rights-based approach.

The Experience Panels supported the development of decision making about social security in Scotland and ensured it involved the people who know the system best – those who access and rely on services. This is closely aligned to the principles of public participation that underpin the Scottish approach to government^[1]. These are:

• that people have the right to contribute to, and to influence, the decisions that affect their lives, choices and life chances.
• that involving the people likely to be affected by the decision in the process results in better decision making.

This approach recognises the key role that people have in contributing knowledge and experience to the challenges faced by government. Increasing participation in decision making leads to services which better meet peoples’ needs and that are more effectively implemented. Participation is also one of the three key pillars of the Open Government movement, of which the Scottish Government is a signatory.

2.2 Who was in the Experience Panels?

Recruitment for the Experience Panels began in 2017 and led to 2,400 people joining. A two-strand sampling strategy was adopted. Some panel members joined after being randomly selected from existing claimants for the devolved benefits, delivered at that point by DWP. Invitations to participate in the Experience Panels were mailed out to approximately 20,000 claimants with an anticipated 10 per cent response rate. The sample was drawn by DWP on behalf of the Scottish Government. Other panel members were recruited through an open-recruitment route to reach others who may have wanted to participate in the panels. An open invitation was sent out via the press and was hosted on a dedicated webpage, and recruitment was also advertised on social media.

When panel members were first recruited to the Experience Panels the only data collected was the minimum required to confirm eligibility. Subsequently, data on panel members’ protected characteristics was collected via the ‘About You’ survey conducted in early 2018. This survey was run annually and allowed panel members to update their contact details and provide feedback on their experience as participants.

The equalities data obtained from the survey was used to assess if there were any gaps in membership across characteristics, and to report who was participating in Experience Panels research. It became apparent that some panel members were inactive, meaning that they had not participated in research or responded to communications. Subsequently, a second wave of recruitment was undertaken from summer 2019 to spring 2020, which also presented an opportunity to target seldom heard groups that were underrepresented in panel membership. This resulted in approximately 550 additional panel members being recruited.

Case study: Seldom Heard groups

The second wave of recruitment which took place for the Experience Panels from summer 2019 to spring 2020 was intended to replace inactive panel members. However, there was also a growing awareness that some groups and voices were under-represented on the panels. As a result, this second wave of recruitment worked with stakeholder organisations to focus more on seldom heard groups and increase their representation on the panels.

In addition to more targeted recruitment, the “Seldom Heard Voices” research project was set up to address under-representation of some groups on the panels. The Seldom Heard project ensured that groups who need to be treated with particular sensitivity and those who are marginalised or dispersed, also had a voice in designing Scotland’s social security services.

There were four strands identified as “Seldom Heard” in the research project. They were: Mobile Populations, Vulnerable Groups, End of Life, and Carers and Care Experienced. For each strand, two waves of fieldwork were undertaken. Additionally, fieldwork with a fifth strand, Survivors of Abuse, was undertaken in a second wave of fieldwork. The fieldwork was commissioned by the Scottish Government to external research companies and organisations. While the participants in this research were recruited externally to the panels, the analysis was carried out by Scottish Government researchers from the Experience Panels’ team.

The research explored the experiences and views of participants about the following themes: getting information about benefits, applying for benefits, interacting with government agencies, support and advocacy organisations, and views on the future of the social security system in Scotland.

The reports and summaries detailing the findings of the Seldom Heard Voices project of research are available on the Experience Panels publications website.

2.3 How were the Experience Panels organised?

Research

Over the course of the Experience Panels, panel members participated in over 70 surveys, over 250 interviews and almost 100 focus groups and workshops.

When panel members were recruited to the Experience Panels their details were saved in a database. This database was used to identify eligibility for the different research activities, for example if participants with experience of a particular benefit were needed. If a client was eligible, they would then be contacted and asked to participate.

Depending on the topic of research, clients might have been invited to attend an interview, a focus group, a workshop or to complete a survey. Interviews, focus groups and workshops were primarily delivered in-person before the Covid-19 pandemic, but during lockdown and after restrictions eased, video and phone interviews became more common.

Following the research events, all analysis was completed by Scottish Government researchers. Outputs consisted of reports and visual summaries written by the research team. All published reports are available on the Social Security Experience Panels publication webpage

The research outputs were shared internally with policy colleagues for use as part of their decision-making processes. They were also sent to panel members who had participated in the research (see ‘Communication with panel members’, below).

Research with the Experience Panels supported a whole-service design and shaped all aspects of the social security system in Scotland. The research was therefore used by a range of people including policy teams (who design and develop policy and provide advice to the cabinet secretary), Social Security Scotland (which delivers social security services in Scotland), user researchers (who conduct research to inform the design of client-facing processes) and by social researchers in the Scottish Government.

Communication with panel members

After the research had been completed, panel members were sent any reports on the research they had participated in. In addition to the research reports, quarterly newsletters were sent to all panel members, which provided an update on what research had been completed and plans for future research.

As well as these outbound communications, panel members were able to get in touch with the Experience Panels Team by email, telephone (via Helpline) and post.

Data handling

When participants first agreed to be a part of the Experience Panels they consented for their data to be processed, in accordance with the Data Protection Act (1998). Following the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) 2018 update, the Experience Panels’ Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) was revised to reflect the new guidance.

Panel members personal data was stored separately from their survey responses. Interview and focus groups notes were also kept separate from all personal data. All data was stored securely and was only accessible by the Experience Panels team and all staff with access to the data were listed in the DPIA.

Following the closure of the panels in March 2024 all personal information and data from the Experience Panels was deleted, in line with the DPIA policy and GDPR guidelines.

2.4 Why did the Experience Panels close?

When the Experience Panels were set up, it was expected that they would run for four years until all the devolved benefits had been taken over by Social Security Scotland. Delays associated with the Covid-19 pandemic led to an extension of the Experience Panels to ensure panel members were involved until all the benefits had been designed. All the devolved benefits have either been, or shortly will be, transferred over to Social Security Scotland from DWP. As a result, the original objective of the Experience Panels to help design the devolved benefits has been achieved. The final research with Experience Panel members was conducted in early 2024 and final research reports and visual summaries published in March 2024. The Experience Panels formally closed at the end of March 2024.

2.5 What happened when the Experience Panels ended?

An online farewell event was held for panel members on Wednesday 13th March 2024. The event gave researchers and officials an opportunity to thank members for their enormous contribution to the development of the new Scottish social security system. Members heard from the Cabinet Secretary, the chief executive of Social Security Scotland, senior analytical and policy leads from the Scottish Government, and the Experience Panels team. During the event, panel members were given the opportunity to share their recollections of their time on the Experience Panels and to ask questions.

This report is the final piece of work on the Experience Panels. The end of the Experience Panels does not mean that lived experience will not be sought to inform decision making around social security. The Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland will continue to engage with people with lived experience through other research. This includes:

• Social Security Scotland Client Survey
• Social Security Scotland Client Panels
• User research to design, test and improve benefits
• Evaluation of benefits

2.6 Timeline of the Experience Panels

A timeline of key milestones and research events in the design and development of the social security system and associated benefits are shown in Table 2.1. A timeline of the benefits launch is shown in Table 2.2. Please note that the benefit launch dates refer to launch only and not to the transfer of all benefit recipients to Social Security Scotland.