Applications must be accompanied by the required forms and supporting information that the Scottish Ministers require (SS Act 2018 s.38(1)). For example, an individual might not provide part two of the application within the required 6 week period even after a case manager has attempted to contact the individual and has offered support to complete the application. Where this is the case, the application should be rejected.

Rejecting an application is not the same as a determination that an individual is not entitled to assistance. An application is rejected before the eligibility criteria has been considered, because there is not enough information to make a determination about entitlement.

An application may be rejected before a determination is made if the individual has either (SS (Scotland) Act 2018 s.38(5)):

• not made an application in the form that is set out by Social Security Scotland
• not provided appropriate information to process part 1 of the application, for example, confirmation of their identity or residence status.

Before an application is rejected due to not having appropriate information to process part 1, further information should be sought through engagement with the individual. An application should only be rejected where this information is unavailable.

For example, where an individual’s identity cannot be verified, more information should be sought by a client advisor to confirm the individual’s identity so that their application can then be passed to a case manager to make a determination of entitlement.

If a client advisor has exhausted seeking further information to process part 1 and the application is then rejected, Social Security Scotland must:

• inform the individual of the decision to reject their application. This is different from a determination of entitlement.
• explain why the decision was made
• state the individual’s right to appeal the rejection decision (SS (Scotland) Act 2018 s.61(1)(a)).

As an application is rejected by a client advisor before the eligibility criteria has been considered, it is not possible for the individual to request a re-determination. Instead, if an application has been rejected, the individual has 31 days to appeal the decision to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland from the date that they were informed of the decision (SS (Scotland) Act 2018 s.61(2)(a)).

This type of appeal is called a process appeal, and individuals must make a process appeal directly with the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland. For more information on process appeals, please see the Appeals to the First-tier Tribunal chapter.

An application should not be rejected due to not having accompanying supporting information relating to the individual’s needs at the time of application, including confirmation from a professional.

During the decision-making process, case managers may decide that they require supporting information to make a determination. Case managers should engage with the individual to gather supporting information.

Where supporting information is needed to establish the individual’s entitlement but is unavailable following engagement with the individual, the case manager should consider whether other decision-making tools should be used. For more information on gathering supporting information and the other decision-making tools available, refer to the Supporting Information chapter.