Social Security experience panels: cold spell and winter fuel payment – report
Findings from research with Social Security experience panels members on the new cold spell heating assistance and winter heating assistance.
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Annex A: About the Participants
Information from the survey was added to information from the 'About Your Benefits and You'[5] and 'Social Security Experience Panels: Who is in the panels and their experiences so far'[6] surveys. The demographic data collected in these surveys was linked to the information supplied previously by participants as part of the longitudinal dataset 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. 93 respondents' data were linked to demographic information supplied previously. 105 respondent's data could be linked to location information supplied previously. The 6 people who responded who are not Experience Panels members provided their age bracket and postcode.
Just over half of respondents whose data we could link identified as a 'woman or girl' (52 per cent) and a third (48 per cent) of participants identified as a 'man or boy'.
| Gender | % |
|---|---|
| Woman or girl | 52 |
| Man or boy | 48 |
| Identify in another way | 0 |
Almost three in five respondents whose data we could link were aged between 60-79 (58 per cent).
| Age group | % |
|---|---|
| 16-24 | 1 |
| 25-44 | 7 |
| 45-59 | 32 |
| 60-79 | 58 |
| 80 or over | 2 |
More than eight in ten (83 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.
| Disability or long term health condition (n=147) | % |
|---|---|
| Another long term condition | 53% |
| Chronic pain lasting at least 3 months | 55% |
| A physical disability | 58% |
| A mental health condition | 34% |
| Deafness or severe hearing impairment | 16% |
| Blindness or severe vision impairment | 7% |
| A learning disability | 11% |
More than a third (39 per cent) of respondents whose data we could link had experience of being a carer.
| Caring responsibility | % |
|---|---|
| Carer for one or more children who are disabled or have a long term health condition | 11% |
| Carer for one or more adults who are disabled or have a long term health condition | 36% |
| Care for an adult due to older age | 15% |
Of the respondents whose data we could link, more than four in five (84 per cent) live in urban areas.[7] Respondents took part from 29 of the 32 Local Authority areas.
| Location | % |
|---|---|
| Urban | 84% |
| Rural | 16% |
Almost two thirds (63 per cent) had experience of Personal Independence Payment and more than half (55 per cent) had experience of Disability Living Allowance. More than a third (36 per cent) had experience of Carer's Allowance.
| Benefit experience | % |
|---|---|
| Personal Independence Payment | 63% |
| Disability Living Allowance | 55% |
| Carer's Allowance | 36% |
| Cold Weather Payment | 46% |
| Winter Fuel Payment | 61% |
| Attendance Allowance | 19% |
| Severe Disablement Allowance | 19% |
| Funeral Expense Assistance | 4% |
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'.[8]
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