Social Security experience panels: paying benefits into different bank accounts - main report
Outlines the Social Security experience panel's views expressed in a survey on paying benefits into different bank accounts.
Background and research methods
The Scottish Government is becoming responsible for some of the benefits currently delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions.
As part of the work to prepare for this change, the Scottish Government set up the Social Security Experience Panels. People from across Scotland who have recent experience of at least one of the benefits coming to Scotland were eligible to join. Over 2,400 people registered as Experience Panel members when it was launched in 2017. The Scottish Government is working with Experience Panel members to design a new social security system that works for the people of Scotland, based on the principles of dignity, fairness and respect.
In this research project, we sought Experience Panel members' views on paying benefits into different bank accounts, including:
- Experiences of using multiple bank accounts to receive benefits
- Importance of having multiple bank accounts
This report details the findings and key themes that emerged from this survey with Experience Panel members.
Respondents were recruited from the Scottish Government Experience Panels. All Experience Panel members were invited to take part in the survey. The Social Security Experience Panels are a longitudinal research project. The panels are made up of volunteers from the Scottish population who have relevant experience. The results of this work should be regarded as being reflective of the experience and views of the respondents only, and are not indicative of the views of a wider Scottish population. Percentages are given only to show a broad sense of the balance of opinion across respondents.
Survey method
Information from the survey was added to information from the 'About Your Benefits and You'[1] and 'Social Security Experience Panels: Who is in the panels and their experiences so far'[2] surveys. The demographic data collected in these surveys was linked to the information supplied by respondents of this survey as part of the longitudinal data set for the wider Experience Panels project. Demographic data was only available for around half of survey respondents. This is because demographic information for newly registered Experience Panel members was not yet available at the time of writing. The following demographic information is given to provide context to the findings from the survey.
Three in ten respondents who we have demographic information for identified as 'man or boy' (38 per cent) and six in ten (62 per cent) identified as 'woman or girl'.
| Gender | % |
|---|---|
| Woman or girl | 62 |
| Man or boy | 38 |
| Total | 100 |
Half of respondents were aged 45 to 59 (50 per cent) and over one third were aged 60 to 79 (36 per cent). 13 per cent of respondents were aged between 25 and 44.
| Age | % |
|---|---|
| Under 25 | 0 |
| 25 – 44 | 13 |
| 45 – 59 | 50 |
| 60 – 79 | 37 |
| 80 or over | 0 |
| Total | 100 |
Just under nine in ten respondents (89 per cent) had a disability or long term health condition.
| Disability status | |
|---|---|
| Disabled | 89 |
| Not disabled | 11 |
| Total | 100 |
Around six in ten respondents had a physical disability (66 per cent) or chronic pain (64 per cent). One third had a mental health condition (36 per cent) and around one in ten had a severe hearing impairment (13 per cent). Under one in ten had a severe visual impairment (four per cent) or a learning disability (seven per cent). Six in ten told us they had some other kind of disability or long term health condition (63 per cent).
| Disability Types | % |
|---|---|
| Has a physical disability | 66 |
| Has chronic pain | 64 |
| Has a mental health condition | 36 |
| Has a severe hearing impairment | 13 |
| Has a severe visual impairment | 4 |
| Has a learning disability | 7 |
| Has another kind of disability or long term health condition | 63 |
Around four in ten respondents (43 per cent) said they were a carer.
| Caring status | % |
|---|---|
| Carer | 43 |
| Not a carer | 56 |
| Prefer not to say | 1 |
| Total | 101 |
Of survey respondents who said they were a carer, 70 per cent cared for an adult friend or relative. One in three were a carer due to old age (32 per cent). Two in ten cared for a disabled child (21 per cent).
| Care status | % |
|---|---|
| Cares for an adult | 70 |
| Cares for a child | 21 |
| Carer due to old age | 32 |
Survey respondents took part from 28 of 32 local authority areas in Scotland. The majority lived in an urban area (82 per cent).[4]
| Location | % |
|---|---|
| Urban | 82 |
| Rural | 18 |
| Total | 100 |
Survey respondents who took part had experience of claiming or helping someone else to claim a wide range of benefits. The most common benefits claimed by survey respondents were Personal Independence Payment (62 per cent) and Disability Living Allowance (68 per cent). The least common benefits claimed were for Funeral Expenses (eight per cent) and Industrial Injuries Disability Benefit (three per cent).
| Benefit | % |
|---|---|
| Personal Independence Payment | 62 |
| Disability Living Allowance | 68 |
| Carer's Allowance | 39 |
| Cold Weather Payment | 36 |
| Winter Fuel Payment | 37 |
| Discretionary Housing Payment | 26 |
| Sure Start Maternity Grant | 22 |
| Scottish Welfare Fund | 19 |
| Attendance Allowance | 17 |
| Universal Credit | 17 |
| Severe Disablement Allowance | 17 |
| Funeral Expenses | 8 |
| Industrial Injuries Disability Benefit | 3 |
More detailed demographic information on the Experience Panels as a whole can be found in 'Social Security Experience Panels: Who is in the panels and their experiences so far.'[6]
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