First-Tier Tribunal For Scotland Social Security Chamber And Upper Tribunal For Scotland (Rules Of Procedure) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2022: island communities impact assessment

Step two – Gather your data and identify your stakeholders

According to the 2011 Census, 83% of island residents reported their health as being 'Very good' or 'Good' compared with 82% for Scotland as a whole.^[3] The proportion of island residents with a long-term (lasting 12 months or more) health problem or disability that limited their day-to-day activities was just under 20%, including 9% who reported their daily activities were limited a lot.^[4] The corresponding proportions for Scotland as a whole were very similar.

62% of island residents are aged between 16-65 with the median age being 45 which is higher than the average across Scotland as a whole (41).^[5]

The change will apply across all benefits that carry a right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal for Scotland. However, in practice, as this policy will allow the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal to give a direction prohibiting disclosure of a document or information to an individual if it will cause them serious harm, it is expected that people in receipt of disability assistance will be the most likely to be affected. This is because applications for disability assistance generally include consideration of a person's physical or mental health, while applications for some devolved benefits such as the Five Family Payments do not generally include consideration of a person's physical or mental health.

We expect that it will be more likely that adults and young people aged 16 and 17 will be impacted by this policy. This is partly because children who are eligible for disability assistance are generally not responsible for communicating with Social Security Scotland or with the Tribunal. Instead it is generally a parent, guardian or appointee who makes the application on behalf of the child and who receives communications about the child's disability benefit from Social Security Scotland and from the Tribunal.

Nearly 9.5% of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment in Scotland live in remote and island communities across the six local authority areas as of January 2022.^[6] This accounts for 28,986 people.