Child Disability Payment decision making guide

Resolving disputes about who should act on behalf of a child

The following general guidance applies where there is a dispute about who should act on behalf of a child for the purposes of CDP. The case manager should:

  • gather information about the child's circumstances to understand who is practicably able to act on behalf of the child
  • seek the views of those with an interest in the welfare or financial affairs of the child
  • consider and understand whether there are any safeguarding concerns in relation to the current or alternative arrangements of who should be acting on behalf of the child
  • decide whether or not to seek the child's views
  • decide who will act on the child's behalf for CDP

Gathering information about the child's circumstances

The case manager should ask:

  • each person whether they have legal authority to act on the child’s behalf
  • for a brief description of the person's relationship to the child, such as parent, grandparent, aunt, etc
  • for details of the child’s living arrangements
  • each person for a brief description in their own words as to why they feel that they are better placed to manage the child's CDP
  • for contact details for anyone else who has an interest in the welfare or financial affairs of the child
  • whether it would be possible to seek the views of the child without the child being worried, upset or confused.

Further guidance can be found on when to seek the views of a child in step 3 of the Client Representative Guidelines for appointees for children: Deciding whether or not to seek the child's views.

Other people who may have an interest in the child's welfare or financial affairs include:

  • people with legal authority to act on behalf of the child
  • a social worker allocated to the child (if the child has one)
  • the lead professional named on the Child's Plan.

Seeking the views of those with an interest in the welfare or financial affairs of the child

The case manager should attempt to contact the relevant people identified by the people wishing to act on behalf of the child. The case manager should ask them:

  • who they feel is best placed to manage the child's CDP
  • whether the child is capable of expressing a view.

A case manager may discuss a child's award with anyone who has legal authority to act on behalf of the child.

No one needs to provide a view if they do not wish to. The case manager should explain to them that:

  • Social Security Scotland needs to identify a person who it will interact with for the purposes of the child's entitlement to CDP
  • what it means to be willing and practicably able to manage a child's entitlement to assistance
  • that Social Security Scotland must, if feasible, take into account the views of the child and others with an interest in the financial or welfare affairs of the child
  • who Social Security Scotland will share any information gathered with and how this will be done

In seeking the views of others, it is important to obtain their views on what is in the child's interests based on all circumstances. This includes who is willing and practicably able to act on the child's behalf.

Seeking the views of the child

Case managers should only seek the child's views if they are satisfied that doing this would not worry, upset or confuse the child. This could be established by speaking to the people who are involved in the child's life. Further guidance can be found on when to seek the views of a child at step 3 of paragraph 27 of the Client Representative Guidelines for appointees for children: Deciding whether or not to seek the child’s views.

The case manager should not contact someone if it would place them at risk of harm or cause that person unnecessary distress.

Deciding who will act

Primary Considerations

The primary consideration is that the case manager must decide who should act in the best interest of the chiId (UN Convention on Rights of the Child, Article 3).

The case manager should take into account the child's individual circumstances when:

  • thinking about what's best for the child in their daily life
  • making sure that the child is protected and cared for.

How to approach making the decision

Case managers must make decisions which are:

  • lawful
  • reasonable and rational
  • made following a fair procedure and in accordance with these guidelines

Case managers will accept facts to be true ‘on the balance of probabilities’. This means that a fact will be accepted as true if, based on the information available to the decision maker, it appears more likely than not that it occurred.

Decisions must be based on all relevant information and must not be based on information that is irrelevant.

When making a decision, one or more facts will count in favour of deciding one outcome over another.

Some facts will be more persuasive than others.

Case managers must decide how much importance or ‘weight’ to attach to each fact. Case managers must decide overall which set of facts is most persuasive.

This is sometimes described as weighing up the competing sets of facts and reaching a balanced decision.

Potentially relevant factors

No one individual's views are determinative. A case manager will need to respect the rights and views of anyone with parental rights and responsibilities, or who has legal authority to act on behalf of the child.

Case managers must reach their decision independently by taking into account all of the information available before deciding who will act for the child.

The decision on who should act for the child should be made in the interests of the child. It is not possible to give an exhaustive list of considerations as each case will be different. Case managers will want to consider who is most capable of acting for the child and arranging for assistance to be used in the child's interests.

If the child has given a view on who should act on their behalf, then the older and more mature a child is, the more weight should be given to their views when considering their interests.

If an individual disputing a payment arrangement has suggested there may be financial abuse, Social Security Scotland have the power to suspend payments if they consider it necessary to protect the child from the risk of financial abuse.

Financial abuse is defined in Iaw (Reg 26A(4) of the DACYP(Scotland) Regulations 2021) as including:

  • having money or other property stolen
  • being defrauded
  • being put under pressure in relation to money or other property
  • having money or other property misused

Justifying the decision

The case manager should be prepared to justify their decision. This means doing all of the following:

  • setting out what information they considered
  • explaining and applying any policy or guidance taken into account
  • noting any views taken by either person or the child
  • providing reasons about how their decision was reached

From all relevant information, the case manager should satisfy themselves that, on balance of probabilities, the decision being made is in the best interests of the child.

Who should be notified?

The case manager should tell the following people the outcome of the decision and the reasons for it:

  • the person acting for the child
  • the person who wishes to now act for the child
  • the child (if the child was asked for a view and understood what they were being asked)
  • any other person who provided a view (if the case manager deems it appropriate to do so).

The case manager may share the views they gather with other people who are asked to provide a view. This will only be done if necessary in order for these people to give an informed view about who should act for the child and so that they understand the case manager's reasons for the decision.

Where a case manager decides to make payment to one individual in respect of a child in a scenario of two (or more) individuals disputing who best to act on behalf of the child, they must notify all parties of the outcome of decisions made of who to make payments to. As this decision does not have appeal rights, if any party disagrees with the decision, they should in the first instance raise a complaint.

Changing responsibility for the child

If the case manager decides to change the person acting for the child, they should follow the change in responsibility operational guidance.

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