Social Security Scotland, first impressions as a service user

I had planned to write a blog article on Wednesday despite the fact I am struggling with a bad cold and hayfever simultaneously. It’s a joy. However instead I had to sort out what is going on with my review for Scottish Adult Disability Payment, which was supposed to have started on Friday. It’s now Wednesday and I still haven’t received my review forms, but I have received eight identical letters telling me my review is due to start on the 25th of April, five of which arrived on Tuesday the 29th. I tried calling Social Security Scotland in order to find out what was going on but gave up after sitting on hold for 30 minutes, which is uncomfortable and inconvenient when you only have one working hand so I tried the online chat system instead.

At least Social Security Scotland has a staffed online chat system operated by real human beings which is more than can be said for the Department of Work and Pensions which administered Personal Independence Payment, the disability benefit I was on before being transferred to Scottish Adult Disability Payment in February. So Social Security Scotland gets points for that. With the DWP you had no alternative but to sit on hold on the phone for as long as it took.

After sitting in a queue in the online chat system for twenty five minutes I finally got through to an assistant. She told me that the multiple letters are a known glitch which they are working to resolve and that my review pack will have been sent out at the end of the working day on Friday 25th April and it should arrive soon.

I have a letter from my former occupational therapist given to me when I was discharged which details my needs and disabilities and explains that they will be life-long. The assistant also told me to include a copy of this letter when I return the review form as it will help to get a speedier decision. Obviously she could not tell me how long exactly it will take to get a decision. I’m anxious to get this process over and done with as quickly as possible but she did say that staff are currently dealing with a huge backlog of claims and reviews and they are currently working their way through reviews submitted in December so I am looking at a four or five month wait after I get my review forms – which still have not arrived remember – filled in and returned with supporting evidence. However she assured me that my benefit would continue without interruption until I get a decision on my review.

The problem is that my disabled parking blue badge expires on 30 June, the original date on which I had been due to have my PIP claim reviewed before I was transferred onto Scottish Adult Disability Payment despite the fact that when I applied for PIP medical evidence was submitted proving that my disability and support needs would be life-long. The big chunk of my brain that died when I had my stroke in October 2020 is not going to grow back. I am not going to get a decision on my Adult Disability Payment review until some months after my blue badge expires. I explained this to the assistant, who told me that Social Security Scotland have negotiated an agreement with Scottish local authorities to give Adult Disability Payment claimants a year’s grace until a decision is made on their review.

So then I had to apply for a new blue badge as mine expires in eight weeks and you are advised to apply twelve weeks before expiry. This meant getting all the necessary documentation together, my blue badge number, a scan of my Adult Disability Payment award letter with the review date on it, a scan of a letter from a government agency with my name and address, a scan of my passport, and a photo of myself looking like Alf Garnett. It’s not actually necessary to submit a photo of yourself looking like Alf Garnett if you don’t happen to look like Alf Garnett, but some of us are just naturally blessed.

You apply for a blue badge online, all went well up until the point where I was asked to input the date of my Adult Disability Payment review. I got an error message informing me that the review date had to be in the future and I couldn’t get any further. So I had to call my local authority South Ayrshire Council and sit on hold on the phone again. The person I spoke to didn’t have the information I needed so she asked for my number and promised to call back after she had consulted with her colleague, who was busy on another call.

She called me back fifteen minutes later and explained that when I got to the part where I was asked for my review date to click the box saying that I didn’t have one and then upload my documentation. She confirmed that I would be issued a new blue badge due to expire on 30 June 2026 and that I should apply for a badge again after I get a decision on my Adult Disability Payment review from Social Security Scotland.

In the intervening period I had somehow managed to log myself out of the blue badge application process without saving it. So it was back to square one. I don’t have anyone to blame for that except my own stupidity.

I still have the Adult Disability Payment review to do, but I am assured by those who have done it that it’s not so onerous, even if there is a long and stress inducing wait until a decision is made. I hope that the review pack arrives tomorrow and then I can get it filled in and sent off. I’m told that the form is only a couple of pages and those like me whose condition hasn’t changed need only to check a box to that effect, send back the form with any supporting information from medical professionals, such as that letter from my occupational therapist, and fingers crossed all should be well. There is the option to fill in the review form online, unlike the 40 page PIP review form which has to be filled in on paper. I physically cannot hold a pen in my former writing hand and am capable of only a 3 year old’s scrawl with my working hand which means I’d have to get myself to a benefits advice centre in order to get the form filled in. That’s by no means simple when like me you can no longer drive due to your disability, have very limited mobility and find public transport very challenging. I’d have to get my husband to take time off his work to drive me, or take a taxi.

Stressful and bothersome as today has been, it’s still much less stressful and aggravating than my experiences dealing with the DWP. When I did get through to a human being, they were unfailingly polite, friendly, sympathetic and helpful, markedly different to the DWP who make you feel you are being regarded with suspicion as a potential benefit cheat. Social Security Scotland are clearly experiencing teething issues, the long delay I’m likely to have before getting a decision on my review is concerning and is likely to be very stressful for disabled people with anxiety issues. We can only hope that once the new system is bedded in it will run more smoothly and quickly.

On the whole, while it’s not perfect, I’m relieved that I am going through this review in a Scottish system which is designed to protect the dignity of claimants.

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