Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
FOI Reference: FOI/202300389071
Date received: 12 December 2023
Date responded: 15 January 2024
Information Requested
Information relating to reviews of Adult Disability Payments, not new applications, between January 2023 to 12 December 2023:
Request for information 1: Number of ADP reviews currently underway.
Request for information 2: Number of ADP reviews processed.
Request for information 3: Number of ADP reviews not currently assigned to a specific case manager/worker and in a queue waiting assignment - please provide this by month review documentation received and specify type of review (no change/with change of circumstances) and if the review was mandated (end of award period/requested by client).
Request for information 4: Number of ADP reviews currently assigned to a specific case manager/worker - please provide this by month review documentation received and specify type of review (no change/with change of circumstances) and if the review was mandated (end of award period/requested by client).
Request for information 5: Average length of time ADP reviews take to be assigned to a case manager/worker by month.
Request for information 6: Average length of time ADP reviews take to be decided once assigned to a case manager.
Response
Individuals are informed in their decision letter that they will have a scheduled review after a certain date. This is to ensure that they still meet the eligibility criteria and continue to receive the appropriate rate. Unscheduled reviews are different from scheduled reviews. New information becoming available may prompt an unscheduled review of the individual’s case. Common examples include:
a new health condition that impacts on the individual’s ability to carry out the daily living and/or mobility activities
or
a deterioration or improvement in a condition that impacts on the individual’s ability to carry out the daily living and /or mobility activities.
Our ‘review’ process involves making a determination without a person in receipt of Adult or Child Disability Payment having to fill in a new application form. A change in circumstance can be reported by filling in a form online or on paper or by calling Social Security Scotland.
Guidance relating to change of circumstance can be found on the stakeholder resources and guidance section of our corporate website by clicking the following link: Change of Circumstance.
Request for information 1:
As at 21 December 2023, 709 Adult Disability Payment reviews were ongoing.
Request for information 2:
From 1 January 2023 to 12 December 2023, 21,285 Adult Disability Payment reviews had been completed.
Requests for information 3, 4 and 5:
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Social Security Scotland does not have the information you have requested. This is because our process does not align with the questions in regards applications being allocated for processing. Once a fully completed Part 1 of an Adult Disability Payment application is received the Identification and Verification process begins.
Request for information 6:
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the cost of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600 under Section 12 of FOISA. This is because analysis would be required for over 21,000 reviews carried out in the period to 12 December 2023 and a manual calculation of start and end dates for each review is required to calculate your request. Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.
You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. You may wish to do this by narrowing the timeframe of your request, or requesting a specific amount of records to be analysed. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at:
http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx
About FOI
Social Security Scotland is committed to publishing its response to requests. The Scottish Government also publishes responses to requests. You can view the responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.