Social Security experience panels: appointees - report

Outlines the Social Security Experience Panels' experiences of the appointee process and how this should work for Social Security Scotland’s clients.

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Annex B: About the Participants

Information from the survey was added to information from the 'About Your Benefits and You'[4] and 'Social Security Experience Panels: Who is in the panels and their experiences so far'[5] surveys. The demographic data collected in these surveys was linked to the information supplied previously by participants as part of the longitudinal data set for this project.The following demographic information is given to give context to the findings from the survey.

Not all responses were linked in this way. Providing identifying information is optional in all of our surveys. So linking was not possible where there was missing or unclear information from the survey responses. It was also not possible where participants had not previously supplied us with the relevant demographic information. 202 respondents' data were linked to demographic information supplied previously.

Around two thirds of respondents whose data we could link identified as a 'woman or girl' (66 per cent) and a third (32 per cent) of participants identified as a 'man or boy'.

Table 1: Gender of survey respondents (n=202)
Gender %
Woman or girl 66
Man or boy 32
Identify in another way 1

Half of respondents whose data we could link were aged between 45-59 (50 per cent).

Table 2: Age of survey respondents (n=201)
Age group %
16-24 1
25-44 16
45-59 50
60-79 32

Almost nine in ten (87 per cent) respondents whose data we could link had a disability or long term health condition lasting 3 months or longer. Details of the types of condition are in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Disability or long term health condition experienced by respondents (n=202)
Disability or long term health condition (n=147) %
Another long term condition 67%
Chronic pain lasting at least 3 months 57%
A physical disability 55%
A mental health condition 25%
Deafness or severe hearing impairment 9%
Blindness or severe vision impairment 6%
A learning disability 3%

More than half (55 per cent) respondents whose data we could link had experience of being a carer.

Table 4: Caring responsibility of respondents (n=202)
Caring responsibility %
Carer for one or more children who are disabled or have a long term health condition 15%
Carer for one or more adults who are disabled or have a long term health condition 43%
Care for an adult due to older age 19%

Of the respondents whose data we could link, more than three quarters (78 per cent) live in urban areas[6]. Respondents took part from 30 of the 32 Local Authority areas.

Table 5: Location of respondent (n=199)
Location %
Urban 78%
Rural 22%

Almost all (96 per cent) had experience of Carer's Allowance. Seven in ten (70 per cent) respondents whose data we could link had experience of Disability Living Allowance and two thirds (64 per cent) had experience of Personal Independence Payment.

Table 6: Respondents' benefit experience (n=219)
Benefit experience %
Personal Independence Payment 73%
Disability Living Allowance 61%
Carer's Allowance 45%
Cold Weather Payment 35%
Winter Fuel Payment 35%
Attendance Allowance 20%
Severe Disablement Allowance 14%
Funeral Expense Assistance 8%

More detailed demographic information on the Experience Panels as a whole can be found in 'Social Security Experience Panels: Who is in the panels and their experiences so far' [7].

Contact

Email: socialsecurityexperience@gov.scot

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