Social Security Experience Panels - Seldom Heard research programme: mobile populations

Research Methods

The aim of the research was to engage with Mobile Populations participants to explore their previous and current experiences of the social security system. The research included a total of 29 interviews with 10 Gypsy/Travellers^[2], 10 seasonal migrant workers and 10 refugees. A mixture of participants was sought based on gender and age when possible.

Participants were recruited through several stakeholder organisations. This targeted recruitment mainly included engagement with advocacy and support organisations that work around the needs of these specific sub-groups. Hence, caution should be taken when interpreting the findings widely as participants from the Mobile Populations strand were mostly recruited through these third sector organisations. Gypsy/Travellers, seasonal migrant workers and refugees who do not access or are not linked to support organisations may have different experiences.

Participant demographics

Twenty participants had a disability, long-term and/or mental health condition. Ten participants were from a minority ethnic group^[3]. Seventeen participants were female. The majority were aged between 25 and 54.

Over a third of participants were located in Edinburgh and over a third did not reside in a permanent location.

Interview method

The interviews were carried in two stages. For the first wave of fieldwork, interviews were carried out face to face between July 2019 and February 2020. Fieldwork was halted in March 2020 in line with restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. For the second wave of fieldwork, interviews were carried out by telephone in March 2022^[4]. They were conducted by an independent research company 'Mark Diffley Consultancy and Research', commissioned by the Scottish Government.

Interviews had an in-depth qualitative approach and they lasted up to 1 hour in length. They were carried out between a member of the research consultancy and the individual participant. A £20 gift voucher was offered as a thank you for taking part.

The interview data collected was compliant with Social Research Association Ethical Guidelines, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To ensure the research was ethically comprehensive, the following key mechanisms were applied: voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity. Personal data of participants was safeguarded and concealed. The data transferred to Scottish Government researchers for analysis was fully anonymised.

Research questions

The research was designed to help shape the new social security system in Scotland, ensuring that it is built around people's needs. The interviews explored participants' experiences of and views on accessing services and benefits. Specifically, participants were asked questions on:

• Perceptions of, and experiences with, government services
• Experiences and views of the current benefit system
• Views on the future of social security system in Scotland

Quotations

The Scottish Government research team received summaries of interviews from the research contractor rather than full verbatim transcripts. Throughout this report, excerpts of these interview notes are used to provide relevant case studies of participants experiences. Where quotation marks are used in excerpts ("…"), this indicates direct quotations from participants as below:

Overall view is that the social security system is complicated; "all this universal credit, it's not simple, there are even more delays and added workload".

[Gypsy/Traveller]