Recommendation 13

HM Government · verbatim extract Deferred

This is a recommendation for the Scottish Government. Social Security Scotland will start from a position of trust when considering an application for disability assistance. Case Managers will seek one source of supporting information from a professional involved in the client’s care, where possible, such as confirmation of a diagnosis or letter from a support worker. It need only be sufficient to determine, on the balance of probabilities, that the individual’s condition is consistent with the general care and mobility needs detailed on their application. Social Security Scotland will publish guidance detailing who a client should seek information from and the types of information that will give the most informed insight into their daily life and mobility needs. In addition, forms have been designed to give clients the option for Social Security Scotland to gather supporting information on their behalf from contacts such as GPs, Local Authority support services, education providers, third sector support organisations or carers etc. Formal sharing agreements are being established with Health Boards, GP practices and Local Authorities, with the expectation of frequent systematic engagement at scale with these partners so as to best facilitate requests for information. The number of consultations needed for Adult Disability Payment will be reduced compared to Personal Independence Payments assessments, as Case Managers will support clients to provide the most relevant supporting information and will use that information, in conjunction with the client’s application form to determine their entitlement. Information from a client’s wider support network, including carers and family members, will provide a much clearer picture of their daily life than is often possible from medical professionals. Consultations will only be required when they are the only practicable way of making a determination of entitlement. All of these measures will ensure the supporting information policy is delivered in keeping with Social Security Scotland’s values of dignity, fairness and respect. The Scottish Government is committed to being open and transparent and we have therefore regularly published policy position papers which set out the Government’s latest thinking on matters relating to social security. For example, in October last year, we published a series of position papers detailing Social Security Scotland’s approach to gathering information and making decisions on applications to Disability Assistance.