Seldom Heard Groups Action Plan

The Impact of Stigma on Benefit Take-Up: Report of a Get Heard Scotland Citizens’ Panel

The Scottish Government commissioned The Poverty Alliance to conduct research on the impact of stigma on benefit take-up through a Get Heard Scotland Citizens’ Panel. The panel consisted of 16 individuals living on low incomes with lived experience of receiving social security either from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) or Social Security Scotland. Through six online sessions from December 2023 to March 2024, participants discussed their experiences accessing social security entitlements and the impact of stigma on this.

The objective of this research activity was to better understand the differing lived experiences of people applying for and receiving social security support in Scotland and to identify practical approaches the Scottish Government, together with Social Security Scotland, could take to improve the devolved social security system and reduce stigma.

The panel discussed key questions to develop an understanding of:

1. How stigma impacts decisions around benefit take-up.

2. How stigma impacts talking about benefits with friends, family, and the wider community.

3. Whether experiences of stigma have changed over time.

4. The effectiveness of Scottish Government anti-stigma measures to date.

Key Findings

The modest scale of the Citizens’ Panel means that the membership and the experiences shared cannot be considered wholly representative of the wider population. However, the findings provide valuable insights into the impact of stigma as a barrier to take-up from people who have experienced it, emphasising the continued need to develop approaches to address this.

The research found that stigma can be a major barrier to benefit take-up, and that it is reinforced by political and media narratives, societal attitudes, and some elements of the application process. Fear of judgment, reliving trauma, and internalised shame deterred people from applying, particularly among minoritised ethnic groups, disabled individuals, and single parents. Stigma also discouraged conversations about benefits within families and communities, leading to delays in making applications and financial hardship. Participants noted that Social Security Scotland was less stigmatising than the DWP, but that improvements could still be made, including faster decisions, better advocacy support, simpler processes, and increased positive public messaging.

The research also found that stigma affects decision making in several ways. For example, insights from those with lived experience showed self-stigmatisation affected their decision to apply for entitlements and engage with services. The research also emphasised how stigma impacted wider societal attitudes. These impacts of stigma were found to be particularly pronounced for seldom-heard groups.