Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018: progress report 2023 to 2024

6. Equality Assessment and Data

1. Equality Assessment and Data

This section of the report considers how the Scottish social security system has affected the circumstances of people living in households whose income is adversely affected, or whose expenditure is increased, because a member of the household has one or more protected characteristics, as outlined in section 4 of the Equality Act (2010).

The 2018 Act also requires this annual report to include a description of the data used in assessing equality of opportunity. Social Security Scotland collect and publish statistics on applicant diversity and equalities. Unless a protected characteristic forms part of the eligibility criteria for a benefit, information on these characteristics is collected and stored separately from application data. Whilst this information can help us understand who is applying and receiving social security benefits, some of the ways in which having a protected characteristic impacts on finances are indirect (e.g. discrimination affecting access to employment), and it is more difficult to assess the role benefits may play in counteracting these indirect impacts.

• Social Security Scotland Official Statistics are published for benefits delivered by Social Security Scotland. These statistics cover the number of applications, value of payments made and award outcomes. This data can help us understand the reach of the benefit and this is particularly important where the benefit is targeted towards those with a protected characteristic.
• Social Security Scotland Client and Applicant Diversity and Equalities statistics. The latest statistics cover the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 and represent approximately 70% of people applying during this period. When people submit an application for a Social Security Scotland benefit, they are also asked to complete an equalities monitoring form. This form includes questions regarding a number of protected characteristics. This information relates to the person who makes the application, which is usually the person who would receive the benefit but could alternatively be another person acting on their behalf.
• Equalities data is stored separately from application information and is later linked for statistical analysis. Social Security Scotland uses this information to understand who is using their services and how their processes work for different groups of people. The statistics do not include applicants applying for Carer’s Allowance Supplement, Child Winter Heating Payment, Carer Support Payment or Winter Heating Payment.
• The Social Security Scotland Client Survey was sent to all clients who had received a decision or payment between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024. The survey asks clients about their experience of applying for a benefit, interacting with Social Security and receiving payments. This data helps us to understand the experience and impact of benefits by equality group. The overall response rate to the client survey this year was around 12%.
• Scottish Government policy evaluations cover the implementation and impact of benefits. This year, we have published an evaluation covering Supporting Information. Evaluations draw on evidence from a variety of sources including the data sources above and qualitative research with individuals who have applied for these benefits. Qualitative research is not designed to be statistically representative, and it is not possible to state the extent to which these findings generalise to all applicants in receipt of these benefits.

We can consider applications and awards for benefits that are directly focused on helping those with a protected characteristic. The Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment is made to households where there is someone who is, or has recently been, pregnant. Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, 16,625 applications were authorised, with £8.6 million added to family budgets. Of the applications authorised for Pregnancy and Baby Payment, 44% were estimated to be for a first birth and 56% for a subsequent birth as reported in the Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods high level statistics to March 2024.

Best Start Foods launched in Scotland in August 2019 to replace the UK Healthy Start voucher scheme. It provides pregnant women and families with children under the age of three, who are in receipt of certain benefits, payments to purchase healthy foods using a payment card. Between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024, 25,255 applications had been authorised for Best Start Foods.

Some of our benefits are directly designed to help people with extra costs associated with being disabled or having a long term health condition. Child Disability Payment provides money to help with extra care and mobility costs that a disabled child or young person might have. It replaces Disability Living Allowance for Children and was the first application-based disability benefits to be introduced by the Scottish Government. The year 2022-23 was the first full year of Child Disability Payment being open to new applicants. In May 2024 high level statistics for Child Disability Payment were published. These showed that between April 2023 and March 2024, 20,475 applications had been authorised for payment with a total value of just over £164.3 million issued. Including payments made to those who had case transferred by March 2024, the total value of Child Disability Payments issued between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 was just over £416 million. As of 31 March 2024, it is estimated that 80,590 children and young people were in receipt of Child Disability Payment.

Child Winter Heating Payment is an automatic payment for disabled children and young people under 19 who also receive a qualifying benefit. Statistics published in April 2024 showed that in Winter 2023-24 30,400 payments had been made for children or young people with a total value of £7.2 million. At least 27,460 different recipients received payments in 2023-24 and 8% of recipients received more than one payment (i.e. for more than one child or young person). The evaluation of Child Winter Heating Payment found that the payment had helped mitigate the experience of financial difficulty or insecurity and allowed families to better meet the healthcare needs of their disabled child or young person.

2. Ethnicity

Approval rates vary according to benefit type and reported ethnicity. Across all benefits, 87% of applicants who completed the equalities monitoring form were White and 6% were another ethnicity including Asian, African, Caribbean or Black, Mixed or multiple ethnic groups. The remaining 7% of applicants chose ‘prefer not to say’. Overall, there was a five percent point difference between the highest and lowest approval rates for applicants who told us their ethnicity – 66% for mixed or multiple ethnic group and White applicants compared to 61% for Asian applicants.

The client survey asks recipients about the impact that benefit payments from Social Security Scotland have had. Respondents were asked to rate, on a scale of 0-10 ('not at all' to 'a lot'), how much their benefit payment helped them to pay for what they needed, control their finances and how much the payment had made a difference to their life. Respondents who were White were more likely than Minority Ethnic respondents to give a high rating across all three measures.

3. Age

Some of our Social Security Payments are targeted at families with children and this is reflected in the age profile. The majority of Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods applicants (98%) were under 45 years of age, and 81% of Scottish Child Payment applicants were under 45 years of age.

Other benefits are targeted towards young people. This is our third full year of delivering Young Carer Grant. Statistics published in June 2024 show that for the period April 2023 to March 2024, 37% of applications were made by 16 year olds, 35% by 17 year olds and 25% by 18 year olds. A total of 3,920 applications had been authorised in 2023-24. The percentage of applications authorised was broadly similar across age groups – 67% for those aged 16 and 17, and 68% for those aged 18.

Job Start Payment is also targeted towards young people. Of applications made between April 2023 and March 2024, 2% were from those aged 16 to 17, 47% for those aged 18 to 21 and 48% for those aged 22 to 24. Approval rates for age bands with available data show 30% of applications were authorised for those aged 18-21 and 37% for those aged 22-24 as shown in the high level statistics published in June 2024.

4. Transgender

Across all benefits, around 1% of applicants who completed the equalities monitoring form were transgender. Overall, the approval rate for these applicants was 63% compared to 66% for applicants who were not transgender. The small number of transgender applicants makes comparisons by individual benefits difficult, as percentages are more prone to variation. The proportion of transgender applicants varied across benefits from 0 to 2%.

5. Religion or belief

Across all benefits, 59% of applicants who completed the equalities monitoring form said they had no religion, followed by 11% as Roman Catholic, 10% as Church of Scotland, 11% as Prefer not to say, 5% as Other Chistian, 4% as Muslim and 2% were another religion. At an individual benefit level, the percentage of applicants reporting no religion was lowest for Funeral Support Payment at 37% and highest for Job Start Payment at 76%. This was likely due in part to differences in the age profiles across benefits.

6. Gender

Of those who completed the equalities monitoring form, women made up 68% of applicants and 25% of applicants were men. Roughly 1% of applicants described their gender as ‘in another way’ and the remaining 7% chose ‘prefer not to say’. Overall approval rates for women were 69% which compared to 57% for men and 66% for ‘in another way’. For most benefits, applicants who chose ‘prefer not to say’ or ‘in another way’ had the highest approval rates while men had the lowest. Job Start Payment was the only benefit where approval rates were higher for women than those who chose ‘prefer not to say’. Young Carer Grant was the only benefit where approval rates were higher for men compared to women at 76% and 74% respectively.

Of those who responded to the client survey about the impact of benefit payments, women were more likely than men to give a high rating (8-10) for statements relating to whether the payment helped them to pay for what they needed, control their finances and how much the payment had made a difference to their life.

7. Sexual orientation

Overall, of the applications who completed the equalities monitoring form, 84% were Heterosexual, 3% were Bisexual, 2% were Gay and Lesbian, 1% chose ‘in another way’ and 11% of applicants chose ‘prefer not to say’. At the benefit level, Best Start Grant and Foods, Scottish Child Payment, and Child Disability Payment had the lowest proportion of applicants who were Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian, or ‘in another way’. Job Start Payment had the highest proportion of applicants who were Bisexual, Gay and Lesbian, or ‘in another way’.

8. Physical or mental health condition or illness

Around 50% of applicants who completed the equalities monitoring form had a physical or mental health condition or illness expected to last 12 months or more. This compared to 39% who did not have a condition or illness and 11% who chose ‘prefer not to say’. Approval rates were higher for those who did not have a condition or illness compared to those who did, at 70% and 62% respectively.

As expected, Adult Disability Payment had the highest proportion of applicants with a condition or illness at 89%. This benefit also showed the largest difference in approval rates between those with and without a condition or illness at 57% and 43% respectively. It is important to note that these statistics relate to applicants’ self-report answers given through equalities monitoring forms and differ from the client’s primary disabling condition which is captured as part of the application process for Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment.

Carer's Allowance Supplement is an extra payment for people in Scotland who get Carer's Allowance on a particular date. Whilst it is not possible to know the exact figures, it is reasonable to assume that some recipients of this benefit will be providing care to someone in their household who is in receipt of a specified disability payment. Statistics published in August 2024 show that 88,615 Carer’s Allowance Supplement payments had been made to carers who were eligible by April 2024.