Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
FOI Reference: FOI/202300354477
Date received: 2 May 2023
Date responded: 31 May 2023
Request
Under FOI, we would appreciate the following information:
Request for Information 1:
Can you please provide the current processing times for a change in circumstances for child disability payment. For applications currently being assessed, can you please confirm when these applications were submitted?
Request for Information 2:
Is there a deadline or a target with regard to the timescale for a change of circumstances to be assessed and determined for child disability payment?
Request for Information 3:
Can you please provide the current processing times for a change in circumstances for adult disability payment? For applications currently being assessed, can you please confirm when these applications were submitted?
Request for Information 4:
Is there a deadline or a target with regard to the timescale for a change of circumstances to be assessed and determined for adult disability payment?
Response to your request
Requests for Information 1 and 3:
Social Security Scotland is committed to handing clients applications, including change of circumstances, as quickly as we can. Change of circumstances requests can be for different reasons and processing times will vary. This can be because we allow sufficient time to gather supporting information in order to process a change, and get the decision right the first time.
The submission dates within Child Disability Payment change of circumstance work queues currently range from 04/01/2023 to 24/05/2023. The range within Adult Disability Payment is from 13/02/2023 to 24/05/2023. Applications within these dates may require assessment, or be awaiting additional information to bring them to a conclusion.
Requests for Information 2 and 4:
Our commitment in Our Charter is to handle clients’ applications and enquiries as quickly as we can. A link to Our Charter is below:
https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/our-charter
For change of circumstance when Special Rules for Terminal Illness apply, these are processed in a different way and we aim to deal with these within 7 days.
About FOI
Social Security Scotland is committed to publishing responses to requests. The Scottish Government also publishes responses to requests. You can view the responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.