Risk registers held by Social Security Scotland in relation to Adult Disability Payment (ADP): FOI Review

Information requested

Original request: 202600503205

Please provide the following information held by Social Security Scotland in relation to Adult Disability Payment (ADP), covering the 12 months prior to the date this request is received.

Request for information 1:

Risk registers / corporate risks

Copies of any entries (including current or historic versions) within:

a) corporate risk registers,

b) directorate-level risk registers, or

c) programme / delivery risk logs

that refer to administrative backlogs, delays, or queueing affecting ADP reviews.

Request for information 2:

Senior management briefings / management information

Copies of any internal briefings, reports, or management information provided to senior management or governance boards that refer to:

a) delays in processing or allocating ADP reviews; or

b) risks to meeting ADP review or redetermination timescales.

Request for information 3:

Operational mitigations

Copies of any internal guidance notes or operational updates issued to staff that:

a) acknowledge delays or backlogs in ADP review administration; and

b) set out mitigations, workarounds, or temporary measures to manage those delays.

Request for information 4:

Exempt information

Where information within the scope of this request is held but considered exempt from disclosure:

a) please confirm that the information is held;

b) specify the exemption(s) relied upon and why they apply; and

c) provide any non-exempt material or high-level summaries that can be disclosed.

Please provide the information in electronic form.

If any part of this request is refused, please specify the exemption(s) relied upon and explain why they apply.

Response

Further to my email of 2 March 2026, I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). You are dissatisfied that we did not provide you with specific information.

You asked for information on the following areas in relation to Adult Disability Payment (ADP), covering the 12 months prior to the date this request is received:

1. Risk registers / corporate risks
2. Senior management briefings / management information
3. Operational mitigations
4. Exempt information

This review request is in relation to our response to your Freedom of Information request with case number 202600503205.

You have contacted Social Security Scotland to express your dissatisfaction in that you disagree and consider that the original response provided is inaccurate and believe that we have not provided the information you have requested.

Decision:

I have concluded that the original decision should be upheld with modifications, as I am providing further information within the scope of your request.

Analysis:

I have carefully considered your request in arriving at this conclusion.

You have informed us that you are “concerned that the searches conducted may have been unduly narrow, or that relevant information may exist under broader risk descriptions, (for example, operational capacity, service performance, casework throughput, or similar terminology)”.

You have stated that “the response discloses an internal guidance document titled “What we consider to be a delayed review”, which explicitly acknowledges the existence of a backlog and defines reviews completed more than 12 weeks after submission as delayed due to backlog".

In undertaking this review, a fresh search for information was requested using a broader range of search terms as requested.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption under section 17(1) of FOISA applies to that information.

Any reviews that have not yet been completed or assigned are described as our current “Head of Work”. This terminology ensures a more accurate and constructive representation of ongoing operational activity.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested in relation to question 1 and 2 of your original request.

However, following my review, I can provide you with some additional internal operational guidance that is in scope of question 3 of your original request, which asks for copies of any internal guidance notes or operational updates issued to staff. In addition to the one provided with your original response, please find attached an internal guidance document titled:

1. ‘When a determination is being made more than 12 weeks after client returned the review pack’

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

FOI 202600507906 - Information released - Annex

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