Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018: progress report 2025 to 2026

6. Equality Assessment and Data

This section of the report considers how the Scottish social security system has affected the circumstances of people living in households whose income is adversely affected, or whose expenditure is increased, because a member of the household has one or more protected characteristics, as outlined in section 4 of the Equality Act (2010).

The 2018 Act also requires this annual report to include a description of the data used in assessing equality of opportunity. Social Security Scotland collect and publish statistics on applicant diversity and equalities. Unless a protected characteristic forms part of the eligibility criteria for a benefit, information on these characteristics is collected and stored separately from application data. Whilst this information can help us understand who is applying and receiving social security benefits, some of the ways in which having a protected characteristic impacts on finances are indirect (e.g. discrimination affecting access to employment), and it is more difficult to assess the role benefits may play in counteracting these indirect impacts.

• Social Security Scotland Official Statistics are published for benefits delivered by Social Security Scotland. These statistics cover the number of applications, value of payments made and award outcomes. This data can help us understand the reach of the benefit and this is particularly important where the benefit is targeted towards those with a protected characteristic.
• The latest Social Security Scotland Client and Applicant Diversity and Equalities statistics cover the period from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 and reports on 175,775 applicants during this period. When people submit an application for a Social Security Scotland benefit, they are also asked to complete an equalities monitoring form. This form includes questions regarding a number of protected characteristics. This information relates to the person who makes the application, which is usually the person who would receive the benefit but could alternatively be another person acting on their behalf.
• The equalities data that is stored separately from application information is later linked for statistical analysis. Social Security Scotland uses this information to understand who is using their services and how their processes work for different groups of people. The statistics do not include applicants applying for Carer’s Allowance Supplement, Child Winter Heating Payment, or Winter Heating Payment. As the statistics report on applicants, they do not include clients whose case has been transferred from the DWP.
• The Social Security Scotland Client Survey was sent to all clients who had received a decision or payment between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. The survey asks clients about their experience of applying for a benefit, interacting with Social Security and receiving payments. This data helps us to understand the experience and impact of benefits by equality group.
• Scottish Government policy evaluations cover the implementation and impact of benefits. This year, we have published evaluations on decision making and special rules for terminal illness for the disability benefits, and on the carer benefits. Evaluations draw on evidence from a variety of sources including the data sources above and research with individuals who have applied for these benefits.

Ethnicity

Approval rates vary according to benefit type and reported ethnicity. Across all benefits, 84% of applicants whose equalities forms could be linked to their application data were ‘White’ and 6% were another ethnicity including ‘Asian’, ‘African’, ‘Caribbean or Black’, ‘Mixed or multiple ethnic groups’ and ‘Other ethnic group’. The remaining 10% of applicants chose ‘Prefer not to say’. Applicants who chose ‘Prefer not to say’ had the highest overall approval rates at 79%. Overall, there was an eight percentage point difference between the highest and lowest approval rates for applicants who told us their ethnicity – 57% for ‘Mixed or multiple ethnic groups’ applicants compared to 65% for ‘Other ethnic group’ applicants.

Age

Some Social Security Payments are targeted at families with children and this is reflected in the age profile. The majority of Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods applicants (97%) were under 45 years of age, and 88% of Scottish Child Payment applicants were under 45 years of age.

Another benefit that is targeted towards young people is the Young Carer Grant. In 2025-26, 99% of applications were aged between 16-24.

Job Start Payment is also targeted towards young people. Of applications made between April 2025 and March 2026, 96% were from those aged 16-24, and 3% from those aged 25-34. Approval rates for age bands with available data show 40% for those aged 16-24, and 32% of applications were authorised for those aged 25-34.

Overall approval rates were highest for the ‘75 and over’ age group at 88% and lowest for the 16-24 and 45-54 age groups, at 59%

Trans status

Across all benefits, around 1% of applicants whose equalities forms could be linked to their application data were transgender. Overall, the approval rate for these applicants was 50% compared to 62% for applicants who were not transgender. Transgender applicants predominantly applied for Adult Disability Payment. This benefit has the lowest approval rate across all benefits reducing the overall approval rate for transgender applicants relative to other groups.

Religion or belief

Across all benefits, 54% of applicants whose equalities forms could be linked to their application data said they had no religion, followed by 14% Prefer not to say, 12% as Church of Scotland, 11% as Roman Catholic, 5% as Other Christian, 3% as Muslim and 1% were another religion.

Overall approval rates were highest for ‘Prefer not to say’ responses at 75%, followed by Muslim applicants at 65%. Christian groups (‘Roman Catholic’, ‘Church of Scotland’, ‘Other Christian’) approval rates ranged from 61% to 65%. Approval rate for applicants with no religion was at 61%. Hindu applicants had the lowest approval rate at 52%.

Gender

For applicants whose equalities forms could be linked to their application data, women made up 61% of applicants and 29% of applicants were men. Less than 1% of applicants described their gender as ‘in another way’ and the remaining 10% chose ‘prefer not to say’. Overall approval rates were highest for applicants choosing ‘Prefer not to say’ at 80%, followed by women at 65%, men at 54%, and ‘In another way’ at 48%. At the benefit level, approval rates varied. For most benefits, applicants who chose ‘Prefer not to say’ had the highest approval rates, while men had the lowest.

Sexual orientation

Overall, of the applicants whose equalities forms could be linked to their application data , 81% were Heterosexual, 2% were Bisexual, 2% were Gay or Lesbian, and 14% of applicants chose ‘prefer not to say’. Overall approval rates were highest for applicants choosing ‘Prefer not to say’ at 76%, followed by Heterosexual at 62%, Bisexual at 51%, ‘In another way’ at 49%, and ‘Gay or Lesbian’ at 48%.

The ‘Bisexual’, ‘Gay and Lesbian’ and ‘In another way’ groups predominantly applied for Adult Disability Payment. This benefit has the lowest approval rate across all benefits, reducing the overall approval rates for these groups relative to other groups.

Physical or mental health condition or illness

Some of our benefits are directly designed to help people with extra costs associated with being disabled or having a long term health condition. Around 48% of applicants whose equalities forms could be linked to their application data had a physical or mental health condition or illness expected to last 12 months or more. This compared to 34% who did not have a condition or illness and 11% who chose ‘prefer not to say’. Applicants with a health condition or illness had a lower overall approval rate at 52% compared to applicants without a health condition or illness at 72%. The approval rate gap for health condition or illness was 24 percentage points.

This gap disappears or reverses at the benefit level, where applicants with a condition or illness had a higher or similar approval rate to those without a condition or illness. The reason for this difference is due to the benefit. Around 70% of the group with a health condition or illness applied for Adult Disability Benefit which has the lowest approval rate across all benefits, so will have decreased the overall approval rate for this group.