Question reference: S6W-16803
- Asked by: Jeremy Balfour, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 5 April 2023
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 4 May 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to tackle any stigma associated with receiving welfare benefits.
Answer
We are committed to challenging stigmatising narratives in everything we do – taking a rights-based approach to social security, and embedding this in all of our communications. By embracing person-centred approaches to service design and delivery, and by collaborating with organisations working directly with people, we aim to tackle stigma and increase the take-up of Scottish benefits.
We continue to carry out user research to better understand and tackle stigma, and to ensure that Scotland’s social security system is designed with input from the people who will use it. Their experiences are central to tackling stigma through the design of the application process, from communication material (including factsheets, posters, flyers, social media and marketing campaigns), web content on mygov.scot, application forms, decision letters as well as operational guidance for staff.