Clients share the impact of our five family payments

Survey shows payments making difference to family life

Social Security Scotland's Client Survey offers those that access our benefits the chance to tell us their views and experiences of the service they received.

The latest publication includes responses from those who had applied for any of our five family payments - Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Grant or Best Start Foods - and received a decision on that application between 1 December 2022 and 31 March 2023.

9,208 clients took part in this survey, which explores in detail the impact our payments make. We asked respondents to give a rating between 0 and 10 (where 0 means “not at all” and 10 is “a lot”) as to the extent the payments had “Helped their child to take part in social or educational opportunities” and “Helped them to purchase milk and/or healthy food for their child or children”. 69% of respondents gave a high rating (8-10) for both.

As part of designing our social security system, we have worked hard to make sure that it is as straightforward as possible to apply. For example, we have automatic payments for Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment for eligible people already getting Scottish Child Payment. The results of the client survey also found that 93% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that their application did not take too long and their application process was clear.

More than three-in-four (78%) agreed or strongly agreed that they got enough updates on the progress of their application. However, those with a long term health condition were less likely to agree that they got enough updates on the progress of their application.

The results are being used to measure how Social Security Scotland is performing overall and where it can improve.

The response to the survey shows that the work we are doing is making a real difference to people's lives. We are a learning service, and made a commitment in our Corporate Plan to gather feedback on what people think of our service so we can make it better. We are learning from the feedback clients have shared – both positive and negative – to help us make improvements. This feedback from clients is vital to ensure that we can deliver a service suitable for them.

Further details regarding the client survey can be found on our website.

Official statistics for Scottish Child Payment and Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods, up to March 2023 are also available.