We are excited to share our first newsletter. Here we will provide updates about our research publications and ongoing projects. In this first edition we will introduce the Client Panels. We will explain how they work, tell you about the Client Survey 2018-2020 results and what’s to come.
We ran the first Social Security Scotland Client Survey in Autumn 2020. In it, we asked those who replied if they wanted to become a member of the Client Panels. Over 1,000 people said yes. This was the start of the Social Security Scotland Client Panels and our dedicated research team.
We’ve recently been joined by almost 2,000 new panel members from the Summer 2021 Client Survey. We now work together to find out how the new Scottish benefits are working for people in Scotland. In January 2021 we started our first research project. Please see the News and updates section of this newsletter for more information on this.
You’ll find information on the Client Panels on the my gov.scot website
Social Security researchers and support staff run the research for the Client Panels. We are independent of the rest of the organisation. Taking part in our research is always optional and we will usually give you a choice about how you take part.
We will not invite every panel member to every survey or conversation,. Some projects might focus on one particular benefit. So, sometimes you won’t hear from us for a while.
When we contact you we will often include links to websites. We use a site called Questback to run surveys, with links that begin response.questback.com/scottishgovernment. Information about the Client Panels is on the mygov site at mygov.scot/client-panels.
We publish our reports on the Social Security Scotland website socialsecurity.gov.scot. There will always be the option to get information over the phone or by post instead.
We’ll keep your answers confidential. No one will be able to identify you in any of the reported results. Only people working in the Client Panels team will be able to see your name and contact details.
Taking part will not affect any of your applications or benefits. No one involved in making benefit decisions will have access to your answers or know if you have taken part.
If you want to know more about how Social Security Scotland uses your data or any of your other rights in relation to your data, you can contact our data protection officer:
You can leave the Client Panels at any time. If you no longer want to take part let us know by using details in the Contact us section of the newsletter.
The Client Survey report
We launched our first Client Survey in August 2020. We invited everyone who had ever applied or received a Social Security Scotland payment to take part. Over 3,000 people responded. The survey asked about key aspects of your experience with Social Security Scotland.
Some of the results said:
On the whole, comments were very positive:
"My overall experience, I would say, was compassionate."
"No need for improvement as they are doing a first class service."
You can find the Client Survey 2018-2020 report and summary of main insights here. If you would like a paper copy sent to you please get in touch using the details in the Contact us section of this newsletter.
You can find all our publications on the Social Research page.
The impact of COVID-19 on communication preferences report
For this research we asked panel members about the impact that the pandemic had on the ways they communicate with organisations. Understanding this will help Social Security Scotland adapt to how clients’ needs have changed because of COVID-19. We ran a survey and interviews with Client Panel members who had applied for payments. We are thankful to those who took part in this research.
The full report and the summary of main insights are available on the gov.scot website. If you would like a paper copy sent to you please get in touch using the details in the Contact us section of this newsletter.
We are working on the Charter Measurement Framework. This is how we track delivery on the commitments of Our Charter. This includes delivering a service with dignity, fairness and respect. The framework uses client and staff experiences to measure performance and see where it can improve. We asked some Client Panel members, staff and partner organisations about their experiences with Social Security Scotland. We will include the results in this year’s Charter Measurement Framework report.
We have also been working on the continuous improvement of our Client Survey. We have invited some Client Panel members to tell us their views on the survey design. This will help us make the survey easier to complete and better able to capture client feedback.
Lastly, we are working on a research project about the design of our main buildings. Some Client Panel members who are local to either Dundee and Glasgow were invited to take part. Watch this space for more information on what they told us.
We’ll contact you in your preferred way when we can. If you decide you’d prefer we contacted you in another way, let us know and we’ll update our records. To do this or to let us know of any other relevant information to do with our research, you can contact us:
The Client Panels team do not have access to your case information and can’t give advice. You can contact Social Security Scotland by: