Style and writing guide
Writing about our services
How to write about our benefits and the services we offer.
- Approaching 16
- Benefits/assistance/award
- Case transfer
- Components
- Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Decisions, Determinations
- European Economic Area (EEA)
- Evidence
- Geography and regions
- Government
- Identity verification
- In person
- Local authority
- National Insurance card and number
- Notice of determination
- Re-determination
- ‘Regular’ versus ‘recurring’ payments
- Regulations
- Reviews
- Short-term Assistance
- Supporting information
- Timeframes
- Yours faithfully, yours sincerely
Approaching 16
When writing about Child Disability Payment, this phrase is used to describe a child who is turning 16 soon.
Use ‘approaching 16’ rather than ‘rising 16’.
Benefits/assistance/award
Use ‘benefit’ or ‘award’ rather than ‘assistance’ when talking about the different Social Security Scotland payments like Child Disability Payment.
Try to use the specific name where you can and refer to our guidance on abbreviation and acronyms before using them.
You can also use the term ‘benefits’ to describe payments from other organisations like the Department for Work and Pensions. For example, ‘other benefits you can get'.
'Assistance’ is the correct legal name in the Social Security Scotland Act (2018), but the research that exists does not support its use in content. 'Assistance’ could be misleading because people don’t always think automatically about financial assistance. They could also think about emotional or other non-financial support.
Case transfer
Use ‘move’ instead of ‘transfer’ to explain the case transfer process to users.
Talk about the award or benefit moving, not the person or the ‘case’.
Case transfer may be used internally but for external content it is the award that moves.
Components
These are parts of disability payments and depend on what the client is entitled to.
There are care components and mobility components.
Components are paid at different rates - not levels.
Examples
For Child Disability Payment, the care component has 3 rates: lowest, middle and highest
The mobility component has 2 rates: lower and higher.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Follow the GOV.UK style guide entry for ‘coronavirus (COVID-19)’.
Decisions, Determinations
A determination is a decision we make about an application.
When we make a decision on an individual’s entitlement, we should call this a determination.
This ensures everyone remembers that rights of re-determination and appeal flow from the determination.
Other decisions do not have rights of challenge. We can just call these ‘decisions’.
For further guidance, see our entry on ‘notice of determination’.
European Economic Area (EEA)
Follow the GOV.UK style guide entry for ‘European Economic Area (EEA)'.
Evidence
At Social Security Scotland we use the term ‘evidence’ to mean documents or information that confirm a client meets a particular eligibility condition. For example, documents that show they live in Scotland or confirm who they are.
The term ‘evidence’ is also used in other contexts. Such as:
- on systems, such as SPM, to mean records on a client’s case
- in fraud cases, to mean all information gathered for an investigation
Do not use ‘supporting information’ to refer to these kinds of documents. Read entry on supporting information.
Examples
Use:
- send us evidence to confirm you live in Scotland
- provide us with evidence of your time in care
- upload your documents
- add proof of job offer evidence to SPM
Do not use:
- a written kinship care agreement can also be used as supporting information
Geography and regions
Follow the GOV.UK style guide entry for ‘Geography and regions’.
Identity verification
Use: identity verification.
Avoid:
- identity and verification
- ID&V
In person
Use ‘in person’ instead of ‘face-to-face’ when describing meeting clients.
This is because ‘face-to-face’ could also refer to video calls with clients.
Local authority
National Insurance card and number
‘National Insurance’ should always be capitalised, but ‘card’ and ‘number’ should not.
Never use ‘NINO’ when referring to a National Insurance number.
Notice of determination
After we make a determination, we send the individual a notice of determination.
This legally must include specific information, including re-determination and appeal rights.
In operational guidance we should use 'notice of determination'.
In client-facing content we do not need to call this a ‘notice of determination’, as long as the information legally required is included.
If we do use the phrase determination or notice of determination in client content, we should give an explanation for this.
Example
A determination is our decision about your award.
Re-determination
This is the legal term for when the agency are asked by the client to look at their decision again.
This step is required before a client can appeal a decision.
All lower case and hyphenated.
‘Regular’ versus ‘recurring’ payments
In relation to benefit payment frequency.
Use ‘regular' for ongoing payments.
Do not use 'recurring’.
Where payments are made once a year or on only one occasion, these can be called one-off payments.
Reviews
As in scheduled and unscheduled reviews.
This term is used internally - for example in ops guidance.
This term does not appear in legislation so use another term in public facing content if this term has negative connotations.
For client-facing content, try to be transparent about what the review will actually cover.
Example
We will check XXX.
Short-term Assistance
The name of the payment which the client receives whilst awaiting the outcome of a re-determination or appeal.
Capitalise ‘Short’ and ‘Assistance’. Insert a hyphen between ‘Short’ and ‘term’.
This is consistent with style for other Social Security Scotland payments.
Supporting information
At Social Security Scotland, ‘supporting information’ helps us understand a client’s disability, condition or needs. It can be documents or other kinds of information, including information given over the phone. Supporting information is provided by health or other professionals or the client's wider support network.
Do not use ‘evidence’ to refer to supporting information. We do not use supporting information as evidence of someone's condition. It supports what the client tells us. Read entry on evidence.
Examples
Use:
- supporting information is usually copies of documents or letters you may already have at home
- supporting information provided by the client will be stored under 'Active Evidence'
Do not use:
- provide evidence alongside your application
Timeframes
If you need to explain a timeframe, use days when it is an internal process a client adviser would do.
For example a system process - ‘Create a task to check in 14 days' time.’
Use ‘weeks' to a client.
This includes any operational guidance which the client adviser may relay to the client.
Yours faithfully, yours sincerely
Valediction at end of letter notifications.
When we're writing to a named person and the letter begins ‘Dear <name>’, use ‘Yours sincerely’
When we're writing to someone whose name we do not know and the letter begins ‘Dear Sir/Madam,’ use ‘Yours faithfully’
In technical drafts where there may be a name of an organisation or a named person field check business rules carefully to see if differences can be accommodated to fit the above, or seek further guidance from content leads.