Council / Streamlined SIC service could help save ‘legwork’ of benefit applications
SHETLAND Islands Council (SIC) could use information provided to them by locals to help them apply for eligible benefits and to drive service improvements.
Chief executive Maggie Sandison said there was a recognition that often organisations like the council held information about people but “they’ve not used it in a good way”.
She is proposing that – if people opt in – their data in one form could then be used to point them towards other eligible schemes.
Making an example, Sandison told Shetland News that if someone applied for free school meals their information could be used to help them apply for similar services – such as the clothing grant.
The idea, which she referred to as a “passport” to quicker decision-making, would save people having to apply to different departments for varying services.
“My vision very much is that, provided people are comfortable with us sharing or using info in that way, if you apply once that should be a passport for us to then assess eligibility for lots of other things,” she said.
“Meaning you as an individual don’t have to apply for one benefit, then go and apply for another benefit, because all the information that we would ask for would be there.”
Sandison said there were “real opportunities” for the SIC to be “more streamlined in what we do”.
She stressed that the most important thing was that the person “gets the service easily,” adding it would save them “all that legwork” of multiple forms.
And she reiterated that they will “always ask people to agree to that”.
“What we’re actually saying is, with your permission, you tick a box on that first form that you fill in then you don’t have to fill in multiple forms.
“We can do all that background work to make the connections that are needed with a single application rather than multiple applications.”
The SIC chief executive was responding to questions from Shetland News about the council’s response time to freedom of information (FOI) requests.
The Scottish Information Commissioner is currently undertaking work with the SIC about its “poor performance” with regard to FOI responses, contacting the council in December to ask what had led to a drop in response times.
A meeting heard last month that FOI requests were being “abused” and treated like a “game” by journalists to gather information from the SIC.
Journalists ‘abusing’ FOI system blamed for increased pressure on SIC
The council’s legal chief Jan Riise said a “significant increase” in the number of FOI requests it receives was putting “considerable pressure on the public purse”.
Sandison admitted that the SIC has “struggled to deal with information requests”, whether these were FOIs or subject access requests – in which someone asks for all the information the SIC holds on them.
She said the SIC had commissioned a study into how it holds data, how they can make it more accessible to people and “how we use the data to really drive the business”.
“Traditionally organisations have asked for information, or held information, but they’ve not used it in a good way,” she said.
“Data should be driving the decisions that we make. It should be helping us plan how we’re going to redesign services, raising risks like turnover of staff.
“If we use our data well it should be supporting us to be a better organisation.”
Sandison said it was “really important” that people did not feel they had to ask for information, and could find it easily.
“This review that we’re doing is about making us better,” she said.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
