No One Left Behind: user experience research
Findings from a survey and qualitative research with service users of No One Left Behind funded support services across Scotland. It provides insights into service user experiences with a particular focus on parents, disabled people and people from a minority ethnic background.
Footnotes
1 In the latest No One Left Behind statistics (published May 2026), overall 32% had entered employment since receiving support, taking an average of 152 days from the date they started receiving support funded through No One Left Behind. The equivalent figures for the priority groups were: parents, 29%, 177 days; disabled service users, 24%, 183 days; service users from a minority ethnic background, 25%, 176 days.
2 Note that this is slightly narrower than the definition used in No One Left Behind statistics, which includes those with children up to 19 if they are living at home and in full-time education.
3 The relatively long fieldwork period allowed for extra time so that more local authorities could provide sample, and to test early response rate assumptions and adjust the issued sample to ensure at least 1,000 responses.
4 Based on estimates of all No One Left Behind clients in Scotland who would have been eligible to be included in the sample, the 29 local authorities accounted for 91% of clients.
5See for example evidence on nonresponse rates to Scottish Government surveys by age in Ormston et al (2025) Understanding Survey Nonresponse Behaviours: Evidence and Practical Solutions, Scottish Government.
6 Source: National Library of Medicine (2022) Understanding ethnic inequalities in mental healthcare in the UK: A meta-ethnography
7 See for example Kapadia et al (2022) Ethnic inequalities in healthcare: a rapid evidence review, NHS Race and Health Observatory
8 Source: Mental Health Foundation (2024) Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities
9 Support is available to all, although there are some restrictions around eligibility for specific types of help – for example, people awaiting the outcome of an asylum application without right to work status cannot undertake paid employment or participate in paid work placements, but they can participate in training for employment. Eligibility to take up paid placements or Employer Recruitment Incentives (ERIs) depends on right to work status and can be limited to specific jobs or industries. Employability Key Workers can seek further advice on whether any such restrictions on the types of support an individual can access from the Scottish Refugee Council (for asylum seekers) or local immigration officers.
10 The Scottish Government’s No One Left Behind statistics series includes estimates of outcomes achieved by those supported by No One Left Behind (based on those it was possible to contact at key follow-up points after their engagement with support). The latest summary of No One Left Behind statistics, published in May 2026, estimates that 32% of those supported under No One Left Behind had entered employment, and a further 14% had entered further or higher education or training.
11 See No One Left Behind statistical summary May 2026
12 Note: this was based on a bespoke export of No One Left Behind service users eligible to be included in the sample for this survey. The figures therefore differ somewhat from published No One Left Behind statistics, as these are based on different time periods in terms of first contact with services.