This chapter relates to how Social Security Scotland make decisions on entitlement for Child Disability Payment (CDP).

The guidance in the following paragraphs sets out the general principles which case managers should follow when requesting a case discussion.

A case discussion is the process by which a case manager requests a formal piece of advice from a specialist advisor to help them make a determination.

A specialist advisor could be:

• a Social Security Scotland practitioner
• someone from the Decision Support Team.

A case discussion may be required as part of processing an application, as part of a review or as part of the re-determination process.

Other means of support should be exhausted before a case discussion request is made:

• A case manager must first consider relevant areas of existing guidance and the decision making guidance.
• They may then consider seeking colleague support from a line manager.
• They must also consider whether they have attempted to gather supporting information, including requesting information from third parties. This should be undertaken with the individual’s consent.

If the case manager is still unable to make a determination after taking these actions, they may request a case discussion.