Adult Disability Payment is now open to everyone over the age of 16 and under State Pension age with a disability, long-term illness or mental or physical health condition living in Scotland. The national rollout follows successful pilots in 13 local authority areas, which began in March.
It is the twelfth and most complex benefit to be delivered by the Scottish Government and replaces Personal Independence Payment (PIP), administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), for all new claims made in Scotland from August 29. It also promises no “DWP-style assessments or degrading functional examinations ” as part of the application process.
The Scottish Government said that new claimants will only be invited to a consultation on occasions when more information is required in order to make a decision. Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said this will be more of a “conversation” with a health and social care professional to gain better understanding of how their condition affects them.
Some 313,620 people already receiving PIP and 39,000 getting Disability Living Allowance (DLA) from DWP do not need to apply for Adult Disability Payment - these existing awards will transfer automatically from the DWP to Social Security Scotland.
Case transfers to the devolved welfare system began in mid-June, the Scottish Government said the process is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Claimants who receive ADP will be paid between £24.45 and £156.90 per week to help with the additional costs of daily living and mobility needs. The benefit is paid every four weeks so this amounts to between £97.80 and £627.60 every payment period.
To help more people understand how the new benefit will differ from PIP and the DWP application process, a policy paper recently published on mygov.scot states: “Treating people with dignity, fairness and respect will be at the heart of delivering Adult Disability Payment. It has been designed in partnership with people who will use it. Their input has been crucial in designing an improved service.”
Differences in disability benefit delivery
The document outlines how Social Security Scotland will deliver the devolved benefit from the DWP.
1. “We are ensuring that accessing Adult Disability Payment is as straightforward as possible and we will always start from a position of trust.”
2. “People will be able to choose how to apply, using a channel that meets their needs.”
3. “The application form will be straightforward and easy to use.”
4. “We are funding an independent advocacy service which will support people to access support.”
5. “There will be no DWP-style assessments and there won’t be any functional examinations.”
6. “Social Security Scotland will only need to collect one piece of formal supporting information when making a decision.”
7. “The onus will be on Social Security Scotland to collect information on people’s behalf.”
8. “We will place equal consideration on all sources of information, including clients’ family, carers and friends.”
9. “We will apply the eligibility criteria fairly and consistently to get more decisions right, first time.”
10. “We will take full account of people’s needs and of fluctuating conditions.”
11. “People challenging an Adult Disability Payment decision will be able to access Short Term Assistance when challenging a decision.”
12. “We will fast-track applications from people with a terminal illness.”
13. “Clinicians will use their judgement to determine whether a person is terminally ill, rather than using fixed periods of life expectancy.”
There is also a list of frequently asked questions about Adult Disability Payment at Disability Assistance in Scotland: Adult Disability Payment Policy Q&A, here.
PIP and ADP payment rates 2022/23
PIP and ADP are made up of two components - daily living and mobility.
Whether you get one or both of these and how much depends on how severely your condition affects you.
You could receive the following amounts per week depending on your circumstances:
Daily living
Standard rate - £61.85
Enhanced rate - £92.40
Mobility
Standard rate - £24.45
Enhanced rate - £64.50
The Scottish Government has also committed to undertaking an independent review of Adult Disability Payment within a year of its full introduction, to consider the eligibility criteria, gather feedback from people who have applied and collect data to inform any proposed changes.
Social Security Scotland has also been working with people with lived experience and relevant organisations to develop all aspects of the disability benefit application process to make it easy and inclusive for people to access support they are entitled to.
There are a number of ways to apply for the new benefit, these include:
- Online
- By post
- Over the phone
- Face-to-face
Social Security Scotland local delivery teams will also be available to provide assistance in all 32 local authority areas.
Find out more about Adult Disability Payment here.
To keep up to date with the rollout of Adult Disability Payment, join our Money Saving Scotland Facebook group here, follow Record Money on Twitter here, or subscribe to our twice weekly newsletter here.
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