Method of the systems and processes used to administer benefits, including future Findings from the literature review, processes such as direct payments quantitative analysis and informal and future online services by default. stakeholder interviews suggested that some groups will be more impacted by There is the potential for participants to the changes to welfare provision than have been chosen as a ‘convenience others. These groups include disabled sample’ (Thomas, 2009), in that these recipients of benefits (including those were residents, through whatever with physical disability, mental reason, were available and able to disability or with a learning disability), participate fully rather than being a lone parents and large families. truly representative sample of Changes to Local Housing Allowance residents in Poole from the research regulations have are also predicted to groups listed. There may also be impact heavily on single young people sample bias, in that the practitioners (meaning between the ages of 17 and within different services, whether 34) living alone. The table below lists consciously or unconsciously, chose to these groups and summarises the invite participants who would feed reasons for identifying them as target back about negative or positive issues groups for qualitative interviews: experienced with welfare reform. There is little control that researchers Interviewees were identified and can exert over this, apart from selected via advertisement within specifying criteria by which families Borough of Poole public offices, and needed to be chosen in the first with the help of Community Outreach instance, as they had limited Workers and Social Workers. They awareness of the participants involved were selected on the basis that the and a deadline for results to be shared participant was an adult over 18 who more widely. Borough of Poole would was competent to give consent; they like to follow up with participants in the were deemed safe to work with by future in order to understand further practitioners who had already worked impacts and produce a more robust with them and would pose no obvious evidence base. How this will be risk to researchers, and they could be structured at present is still unknown. classified under one of the groups identified above. Constraints and limitations Semi-structured interviews were then It was not possible to find two held with participants, covering the participants who fit the criteria of each impacts of changes to the welfare group identified as being impacted system on six key areas of their lives: most heavily by changes to the welfare health, well-being, housing, finances, system. Therefore, only one participant employment and education. We also from groups 3 and 4 were interviewed wanted to understand specifically as part of this research. participants’ experiences and opinions
Method Findings from the literature review, quantitative analysis and informal stakeholder interviews suggested that some groups will be more impacted by the changes to welfare provision than others. These groups include disabled recipients of benefits (including those with physical disability, mental disability or with a learning disability), lone parents and large families. Changes to Local Housing Allowance regulations have are also predicted to impact heavily on single young people (meaning between the ages of 17 and 34) living alone. The table below lists these groups and summarises the reasons for identifying them as target groups for qualitative interviews: Interviewees were identified and selected via advertisement within Borough of Poole public offices, and with the help of Community Outreach Workers and Social Workers. They were selected on the basis that the participant was an adult over 18 who was competent to give consent; they were deemed safe to work with by practitioners who had already worked with them and would pose no obvious risk to researchers, and they could be classified under one of the groups identified above. Semi-structured interviews were then held with participants, covering the impacts of changes to the welfare system on six key areas of their lives: health, well-being, housing, finances, employment and education. We also wanted to understand specifically participants’ experiences and opinions of the systems and processes used to administer benefits, including future processes such as direct payments and future online services by default. There is the potential for participants to have been chosen as a ‘convenience sample’ (Thomas, 2009), in that these were residents, through whatever reason, were available and able to participate fully rather than being a truly representative sample of residents in Poole from the research groups listed. There may also be sample bias, in that the practitioners within different services, whether consciously or unconsciously, chose to invite participants who would feed back about negative or positive issues experienced with welfare reform. There is little control that researchers can exert over this, apart from specifying criteria by which families needed to be chosen in the first instance, as they had limited awareness of the participants involved and a deadline for results to be shared more widely. Borough of Poole would like to follow up with participants in the future in order to understand further impacts and produce a more robust evidence base. How this will be structured at present is still unknown. Constraints and limitations It was not possible to find two participants who fit the criteria of each group identified as being impacted most heavily by changes to the welfare system. Therefore, only one participant from groups 3 and 4 were interviewed as part of this research.
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