Improvement Service

Problem

Citizens with a disability should have freedom, dignity, choice and control over their lives. The Scottish Government wants to remove the barriers that stop citizens from enjoying equal access to full citizenship by giving them easier access to the entitlements which support them living their lives to the full.

Some of these barriers arise when a citizen has to prove the same thing to lots of different public sector departments, often in-person and using a piece of paper to prove their entitlement. This results in citizens repeatedly proving things about themselves that the public sector already knows.

Claiming multiple entitlements is inefficient and error-prone, and can lead to fraud, data duplication and frustration. Department systems are not connected. Citizens are regularly expected to fetch and carry paperwork between different public sector departments.

Solution

Utilising the SICCAR platform, citizens with a disability – as attested by their GP – will be digitally granted their entitlements. They will then be able to easily and securely reuse that entitlement with lots of different public sector departments. This will make it much easier for them to claim the various benefits they might be entitled to, for example a blue badge parking permit, free bus travel or welfare benefit payments.

These entitlements will exist on a shared ledger that can be accessed by both the verifying bodies and the benefit providers. Citizens will be able to present a QR code to an awarding body, such as a local authority, to apply for a parking permit. Their entitlement will have been verified and digitally signed by a trusted source, such as Social Security Scotland, validating that the person has a disability. The shared ledger ensures the local authority has an audit trail justifying the issuance of a blue badge parking permit.

Citizens have full control over their entitlements and are able to share them with benefit providers as required.

Benefits

• High-quality citizen self-service, enabling citizens to easily claim their entitlements
• Entitlements are verified and digitally signed by a trusted source
• Completely transparent audit trail for local authorities