Child Disability Payment decision making guide

Gathering supporting information

To gather supporting information, you can:

  • use sources provided by the individual
  • contact the individual to ask for additional or alternative sources

Collaborative information gathering

The individual is responsible for providing both the confirmation from a professional and additional supporting information where this helps you to make a determination.

However, individuals may require help to:

  • gather supporting information
  • identify if they have any relevant supporting information already – this could be a confirmation or documents that provide additional detail on their needs
  • identify who an appropriate source of information would be

You must:

  • make every effort to help an individual gather supporting information, including offering the service where they are unable to provide the necessary supporting information
  • ensure that the supporting information gathering process treats everyone with dignity, fairness and respect
  • give people every opportunity to provide supporting information if it is not supplied with their application or review form (if needed)
  • consider each individual’s ability to provide supporting information and the challenges they may face
  • decide when a supporting information request is appropriate
  • take the necessary steps to assist in gathering this information, if asked
  • consider whether you’re able to make a determination based on the balance of probabilities with the information available, taking into account good cause and our trust-based approach

This may involve local delivery teams, particularly where an individual is considered to be vulnerable.

How we help gather information

You can:

  • offer advice on how to contact specific roles or professionals
  • consider if there are other ways to get the information, like a follow-up call
  • advise on other formats for supporting information
  • decide if good cause exists for lack of a confirmation from a professional
  • involve local delivery teams (especially if the individual is considered vulnerable)

If an individual is unclear about what information may be available, and you are unsure who would be an appropriate source of supporting information, a case discussion might be useful to identify a source you would expect to be able to provide relevant information.

Agency-led route

Individuals:

  • can ask us to gather both the confirmation from the professional and additional supporting information
  • must give their permission

We can gather supporting information directly from both:

  • professionals
  • the client’s wider support network

You may need supporting information but the individual has not asked you to gather it on their behalf. There are processes in place to gather information on behalf of an individual if they are both:

  • unreachable
  • identified as vulnerable

To gather information directly, we have agreements with:

  • NHS Scotland
  • GPs
  • local authorities
  • third sector organisations

The following individuals and organisations are required to give us information directly:

  • health Boards
  • registered medical professionals, such as GPs and specialists
  • local authorities

Other agencies and organisations may also be suitable sources of information, and may or may not be covered by similar information-sharing agreements.

No response may be received when you request supporting information on the individual’s behalf during a review. You should not automatically suspend assistance. Every effort must be made to help the individual to gather supporting information or establish good cause.

Determining the best source

You should consider who the best source to approach is where:

  • the individual needs help to gather information
  • you are using additional supporting information as a tool to gather additional detail needed to make a decision on their entitlement

To determine the best source, you should first establish:

  • using the balance of probabilities, who is more likely than not going to know the answer
  • what information is needed and/or required

You may also need to work with the individual to establish who is involved in their treatment or care. This could be professionals or their wider support network.

You should not use professionals as your default contact for additional supporting information. Whilst they may be a good source of information, they often do not see the individual as regularly as their wider support network.

For example, if you need to ask detailed questions to understand their daily routine and life at home, a GP is unlikely to know the answer.

Someone from that individual’s wider support network is more likely to have information about the individual’s needs if they:

  • live with them
  • visit them frequently

However, if you require a confirmation from a professional, a professional would be the correct source instead of the client’s wider support network.

If you do decide a professional would be the best source for the additional supporting information you need to establish the individual’s entitlement, you should consider which professional would be best placed to know this information.

For example, GPs may not be best placed to provide information on an individual’s daily routine. The individual’s paid carer, who sees them twice a week, would be better placed to provide additional supporting information in this case.

You should also try to approach someone who is likely to respond to a supporting information request quickly. This point should be carefully balanced against the value of information they’re likely to provide. This could mean that you will have to wait longer for information deemed important to the decision-making process.

The role of case discussions

You should consider going to case discussion if you are unsure:

  • what sources of information may exist
  • what source or type of supporting information would be most helpful
  • whether the needs described are consistent with what the individual has told us

This list is not exhaustive.

Client-led route

In certain situations, only the individual will be able to get information from a professional or someone in their wider support network involved in their treatment or care. This is called the client-led route. You should do your best to support the individual to get this information.

You can only gather supporting information from a professional on the individual’s behalf if the individual has:

  • asked us to gather supporting information from a third sector organisation or a professional working in the public sector

The individual must gather the supporting information themselves if they meet at least one of the following:

  • they have not given us permission to gather information on their behalf
  • their source works in the private sector

Although the individual is responsible for gathering supporting information through this route, you should still support the individual in understanding:

  • which source might be best placed to provide supporting information
  • what type of information would be helpful
  • how to best approach their source

You should only ask for additional or alternative sources of supporting information if a source provided by the individual:

  • is unlikely to be able to provide the information needed to make a determination
  • has not been responsive to contact
  • has provided information that is of low value

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