Benefit Take-Up Strategy 2026-2031

3. What we have learned

Learning from the 2021-2026 Strategy

The 2021 Benefit Take-Up Strategy was developed at an important stage in the creation of Scotland’s devolved social security system. At that time, Social Security Scotland was still growing, new benefits were being introduced, delivery systems were continuing to develop, and benefit take-up activity had an important role to play in supporting recovery from the impact of COVID-19.

The 2021 Strategy established five guiding principles which have shaped Scotland’s approach to improving benefit take-up over the last five years:

• prioritise person-centred approaches;
• communicate and engage effectively;
• bring services to people;
• encourage cross-system collaboration; and
• continuously learn and improve.

These principles provided the foundation for Scotland’s approach to benefit take-up over the last five years. They helped coordinate activity, making information more accessible, strengthening person-centred support and developing partnerships to help people access their entitlements. They have also generated important learning about what works well, what barriers remain and where the next phase of benefit take-up activity should focus.

Social Security Scotland is now fully operational and, following completion of case transfer from the Department for Work and Pensions in 2025, has assumed responsibility for delivering a wide range of devolved benefits. This includes the delivery of new benefits unique to Scotland, like the Scottish Child Payment. This marks a major shift from establishing a new social security system to delivering a mature public service that reaches people across the country.

The period since 2021 has also seen important progress in reducing administrative barriers and improving take-up. Automatic payments and ‘invite to apply’ approaches for Best Start Grant payments have helped eligible people access support without having to identify and apply for every payment separately.

Awareness-raising activity has also increased through national and tailored campaigns informed by research and user insight, helping to reach people who may not engage through traditional channels. Campaigns are evaluated against key metrics to help measure effectiveness, with learning fed into subsequent work to maximise the impact of spend in this area. For example, independent evaluation indicated that Social Security Scotland’s Pension Age Disability Payment campaign, which ran in 2025, drove a 15-percentage point increase in awareness of the benefit amongst those with a disability or condition. A 140% increase in visits to relevant mygov.scot pages was observed when compared to the previous month.

Partnership working has also expanded at both local and national levels. Collaboration with local authorities, third sector organisations and other partners has supported outreach activity, improved information sharing and enabled earlier identification of need, helping to build trust and extend the reach of the social security system.

We have continued to learn from benefit evaluations, research, stakeholder engagement and the experiences of people who use the system. This has helped identify both what is working well and where further action is needed. For example, evidence highlighted a gap in our understanding of the experiences of seldom heard groups, leading to dedicated research and the subsequent development of our 2025-26 Seldom Heard Groups Action Plan^[16].

Delivery since 2021 has also shown that achieving genuinely coordinated support across services remains particularly challenging. Although signposting to additional relevant services by frontline staff, partnership working and local support have improved, many people still need to navigate multiple organisations and systems to access their full entitlement across devolved benefits, reserved benefits, local authority support and wider services. This remains a barrier to the delivery of truly person-centred, holistic and whole family support.

The 2026-2031 Benefit Take-Up Strategy will therefore build on the principles of the 2021 Strategy, applying them to a more developed social security system and a wider landscape of support. Over the next five years, we will place greater emphasis on coordinated services at all levels, enhanced data sharing and better use of data, improved signposting and referral pathways and strengthened pre-application support. This will help move Scotland closer to a truly joined-up system, where people are supported to access their full entitlement regardless of where they first seek help, and support is delivered in such a way that it maximises positive outcomes for the people who need it.

Key lessons from delivery since 2021 are that:

• awareness of benefits remains important, but it is only one factor influencing benefit take-up;
• trust is fundamental to engagement with the social security system and other services;
• support is most effective when delivered through and communicated by trusted people, organisations and communities;
• practical support before an application can be as important as support during the application process;
• fragmentation and duplication between services can create barriers for people trying to access their full entitlements; and
• a more coordinated, proactive and person-centred approach is needed to maximise take-up of entitlements and support over the next five years.

Learning from the Seldom Heard Groups Action Plan

The 2021 Strategy committed to improving our understanding of the barriers to take-up experienced by people least likely to access the support available to them. To deliver on this commitment, the Scottish Government commissioned independent research into seldom-heard groups and the impact of stigma on benefit take-up. This included the evidence review^[17] of seldom-heard groups within the Scottish social security system and a Get Heard Scotland Citizens’ Panel^[18], facilitated by the Poverty Alliance, on how stigma affects take-up.

The Seldom Heard Groups Action Plan 2025-26^[19] sets out our response to this evidence. It translated the issues identified through research and engagement into practical action in the lead-up to this Strategy.

Actions implemented through the Plan included developing an inclusive communication resources hub for staff; piloting trauma-informed training for frontline staff, enhancing consideration of seldom-heard groups within equality impact assessment processes and strengthening requirements for the Social Security Independent Advocacy Service to build relationships with organisations working with seldom-heard groups.

The Plan also reinforced the importance of stigma-free and trauma-informed approaches. Social Security Scotland’s Tackling Stigma campaign, which ran in 2026, sought to promote social security as a right, challenge negative perceptions and normalise applying for benefits. Campaign tracking showed positive movement among target audiences, including increases in the proportion of unpaid carers and people with a disability or relevant condition who said they would apply for a benefit if they thought they were eligible.

That learning has informed this Strategy by reinforcing the need to combine system-wide improvements with tailored approaches for people and communities most at risk of missing out. It also strengthens the expectation that actions delivered under this Strategy should show how they respond to the barriers people experience when applying for specific benefits and how they contribute to the outcomes set out in Section 4.

Learning from our engagement

In preparing this Benefit Take-Up Strategy, Scottish Ministers have a statutory duty to consult people who have received assistance through the Scottish social security system and people who work with or represent individuals living in households affected by low income or increased costs because of protected characteristics. We met this duty through a structured approach to engagement, bringing together strategic challenge, practitioner insight and lived experience.

Engagement was designed to build on the existing evidence base, not reproduce it. We used it to test outcomes and key areas for the strategy as these were developed, challenge whether the emerging direction of the Strategy reflected people’s experiences and gather practical feedback on what would be needed over the next five years to improve take-up. This included testing the Strategy’s emerging focus on data sharing, signposting and referrals; pre-application support; awareness raising, outreach and engagement; and accessible processes and automation. Our approach brought together three main sources of insight.

• Strategic challenge from members of our Benefit Take-Up Stakeholder Reference Group. The Group tested whether the emerging outcomes and priority areas reflected the evidence base, stakeholder expertise and the experiences of people most at risk of missing out. Its membership includes organisations working with those with protected characteristics, seldom-heard groups and communities most at risk of not accessing support. It will continue to provide advice, challenge, evidence and insight as actions in the Strategy are delivered.
• Practitioner and delivery insight from organisations that support people to access social security, including welfare rights advisers, community link workers, anti-poverty organisations, carers organisations, island and rural stakeholders, and community partners. This included engagement with organisations such as Citizens Advice Scotland welfare rights advisers, Voluntary Health Scotland network, Dumfries and Galloway Poverty and Inequalities Partnership, the Scottish Islands Federation and Coalition of Carers Scotland.
• Lived experience from people and communities who face barriers to accessing social security support including people living on low incomes, disabled people, care experienced young people, young carers, unpaid carers, older people and people living in rural and island communities. This included targeted engagement through routes such as MCR Pathways, Inclusion Scotland, Get Heard Scotland Citizens Panel discussions facilitated by the Poverty Alliance, Scottish Islands Federation and wider community network engagement. This helped ground the Strategy in people’s real experiences.

What people told us

Throughout our engagement, people described a system that can feel difficult to understand, fragmented and hard to access without trusted support. Participants highlighted the impact of stigma, repeated requests for information, complex forms, uncertainty about eligibility and the pressure placed on people to navigate multiple services at difficult points in their lives.

We received a wide range of feedback which evidenced the importance of data sharing, reducing complexity, timely support and engaging with different communities directly. As a result, we based our thinking around the Strategy on the impact these aspects would have on people and have considered this with regard to an illustrative family throughout different stages of the Strategy. They help illustrate the complexity of the current benefits system and the barriers that many families face, whilst also highlighting the difference that accessing benefits can have on finances. It is important to note this is just an illustration and eligibility depends on individual circumstances.

The following comments from individuals are illustrative of the barriers people experience and the type of change this Strategy is intended to support.

“Better data sharing across agencies will stop clients from falling through gaps and not have to retell their stories.”

“Carers need dedicated time and headspace to apply for things. Day to day life is so hard and relentless, many of us don’t have the physical opportunity to fill in forms.”

“Repetitive questioning can make the process feel like it’s trying to catch you out.”

“I’d need to be on my knees before I’d apply.”

“The system is predicated to stop fraud, but it actually serves to disenfranchise the eligible.”

“People get better outcomes when they have someone with them supporting them that has the knowledge and skills to do so.”

“No one will ever hold their hand up and say they are poor.”

Data sharing, signposting and referrals

People and organisations strongly supported better connections and communication between services. We heard that people often need to contact multiple organisations, explain their circumstances repeatedly and provide the same information multiple times, and understand complex distinctions between devolved, reserved and local levels and forms of support. Participants saw value in better data sharing between organisations and levels of government where it could reduce duplication, prevent people falling through gaps and ensure that people do not have to provide the same information multiple times in difficult circumstances. People were clear, however, that this data sharing should be transparent, consent-based where required, accountable and built on public trust.

We also heard that simply signposting people on to other services or entitlements, whether in a conversation or in other forms of communication, is not always enough to ensure that they access and receive the support they need. In some cases people receive information but are not supported to take the next step. This informed the Strategy’s focus on lawful and trusted data sharing, more consistent signposting, and has shaped the steps set out in it for developing referral pathways that can enable the proactive identification and offering of additional relevant support and services to people who will benefit from this.

Pre-application support

People told us that the period before an application is often where barriers are most significant. Someone may be unsure whether they are eligible for a benefit, anxious about applying, unclear about what evidence is needed, or worried that receiving one form of support might affect another. People also described missed opportunities where services such as health, social care or education could have provided clearer information about or signposting to pre-application support at an earlier point.

Carers described the practical and emotional pressures that can make applying for entitlements difficult, including lack of time, energy and headspace. Throughout engagement with stakeholders and people with lived experience, trusted advice, advocacy and practical help were highlighted as essential to improving take-up. Participants also stressed the importance of independent third sector support, while noting that some services are already under pressure. This informed the Strategy’s focus on improving coordinated pre-application support, ensuring its provision during key life events, and creating stronger links between Social Security Scotland, advice services, advocacy organisations and community partners.

Awareness raising, outreach and engagement

Stigma was one of the strongest themes across engagement. People described experiencing shame, fear of judgement and concern that accessing support could be seen negatively by others. Participants also told us that awareness of the difference between devolved, reserved and local support remains unclear, meaning people may not understand what Social Security Scotland does in comparison to the Department of Work and Pensions or their local authority, or how different forms of support connect and impact on each other.

We heard that communication is most effective when it comes through trusted routes, including community organisations, faith groups, schools, health and social care services, carers centres, advice providers, peer networks and local media. In rural and island communities, participants highlighted the importance of local relationships and the need to consider stigma, lack of anonymity and access to advice. This informed the Strategy’s focus on evidence-led outreach, culturally competent and stigma-free messaging, and communications that connect people to practical advice and support.

Accessible processes and automation

People and practitioners described application processes that remain complex, repetitive and stressful. Panel members said forms can feel “overwhelming and intimidating”, and that repetitive questioning can make the process feel like it is trying to “catch you out”. Repeated requests for information can make people feel they are not believed and lead to their needing to relive difficult and stressful life events, while processes designed to prevent error or fraud can unintentionally create barriers for eligible people, particularly those with complex circumstances, trauma, communication needs or limited access to supporting evidence.

Digital exclusion was also a recurring issue. Participants supported simplifying processes, including better use of information, linked applications, clearer processing times and more visible progress updates. However, they stressed that automation must be transparent, accurate, consent-based where required, and supported by human help where needed. This informed the Strategy’s focus on accessible processes, reducing duplication, maintaining choice and safeguards, and exploring automation where it can reduce administrative burden.

How this shaped the Strategy

Overall, engagement confirmed that improving benefit take-up requires action to reduce stigma, simplify processes, improve routes into advice and advocacy, make better use of information within and across services, and strengthen the connections between organisations. Participants valued independent advice, advocacy and third sector support, but also cautioned that public services should not rely on the third sector alone, particularly where local support may be limited.

This learning directly informed our priority areas in this Strategy:

• data sharing, signposting and referrals;
• pre-application support;
• awareness raising, outreach and engagement; and
• accessible processes and automation.

We will continue to use lived experience, stakeholder insight and partnership working throughout the lifetime of the Strategy. This will help ensure delivery remains responsive to the needs of people and communities most at risk of missing out on what they are entitled to, and that future activity continues to reflect the principles of dignity, fairness and respect at the heart of the Scottish social security system.