People with communication needs and the Scottish social security system: fulfilling the expectations of ‘Our Charter’

This initial research set out to explore the experiences of people with communication needs and relate them to relevant expectations in the Scottish Social Security Charter. The Charter places challenging expectations on Social Security Scotland.

Our research suggests the Charter itself does not seem to be particularly prominent in the minds of the public, or of clients and potential clients, when they interact with Social Security Scotland. However, the Charter and associated activities (such as the Inclusive Communications Action Plan) have laid the foundations for a more inclusive approach to social security.

These foundations can be seen in the findings that people with communication needs describe their interactions with Social Security Scotland overall as positive, and better than their experiences with the Department for Work and Pensions. Generally, participants viewed Social Security Scotland as listening, respectful and friendly and the questions they asked as clearer and less intrusive.

Nonetheless, this initial research has also discovered instances where some of the Charter expectations may not be fulfilled as fully or as consistently as we would hope. For example, some people had to repeatedly ask for specific support or had requested a particular format which was not delivered. On other occasions, participants with third party assistance (such as a support worker or welfare rights adviser) encountered difficulties with staff accepting their consent for someone else to communicate with Social Security Scotland on their behalf.

Everyone involved in the Scottish social security system is committed to the principle of continuous improvement. Our findings and recommendations point to some ways in which the experiences of people with communication needs may be improved. We encourage both the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland to engage with our recommendations and conduct further user-focused research in the areas proposed throughout the report.

5.1 Acknowledgements

Finally, we end with a note of gratitude to the people and organisations who participated in or organised interviews, arranged or attended focus groups or supported our efforts to produce accessible versions of this report. We are also grateful to our colleagues from the Scottish Commission on Social Security Secretariat, particularly Andrew Strong and Chris Galloway, who supported us throughout the project.

We would also like to thank colleagues in Social Security Scotland who made time in their busy schedules to meet with us and provided additional information about inclusive communications.

We hope that this initial research, the experiences it outlines and the recommendations we have outlined make a contribution to the ongoing process of continuous improvement of the Scottish social security system.