Mental Health and Benefits Handbook 1st edition - with new materialPart 2: Benefits Chapter 9: Adult disability payment
Back to previous
Chapter illustrations ()
Loading image navigation...
No image index could be found for this publication.
Close this Panel
Chapter 9: Adult disability payment
Key facts
    •Adult disability payment (ADP) is a non-means-tested benefit for adults with a disability or long-term health condition who live in Scotland.
    •ADP is replacing personal independence payment (PIP) in Scotland. You cannot make a new PIP claim in Scotland. Existing PIP claimants and some disability living allowance claimants living in Scotland are being transferred to ADP.
    •You can get ADP while in or out of work, and you can get it alongside most other benefits. ADP does not count as income for the purposes of means-tested benefits.
    •ADP has two components, each of which is paid at a standard or an enhanced rate. The ‘daily living component’ reflects your difficulties with day-to-day activities like preparing food and getting dressed. The ‘mobility component’ reflects difficulties going out and getting around, including for mental health reasons. You can qualify for one or both components.
    •Before a determination is made about your eligibility for ADP, you usually need to complete a questionnaire. You may also be asked to take part in an assessment.
    •You can challenge determinations about your eligibility for ADP.
    •Getting ADP can mean that you are eligible for other kinds of financial support.
1. Who can get adult disability payment
Adult disability payment (ADP) is a non-means-tested benefit 1A benefit that is paid regardless of the amount of someone’s income or capital such as savings. for adults, intended to help with the extra costs of having a disability or long-term health condition. People with mental health problems, with or without a diagnosis (see here), may be eligible for ADP.
You can get ADP if:1s31 and Sch 5 SS(S)A 2018; regs 3 and 4 DAWAP(S) Regs
    •you are 16 or over and under pension age 2This is age 66, and will reach 67 by October 2028., which is currently 66 (some people over pension age can also get ADP – see here); and
    •you are not a person subject to immigration control 3Someone who requires leave to enter or remain in the UK but does not have it, or who has leave to remain but is prohibited from having recourse to public funds, or has leave to remain in the UK on the basis of a sponsorship agreement. and you meet the residence conditions – see CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook; and
    •you are not entitled to child disability payment (CDP), disability living allowance (DLA), personal independence payment (PIP), attendance allowance (AA) or armed forces independence payment (but see here if you are being transferred to ADP); and
    •you meet the disability conditions (see here); and
    •you have had your difficulties for at least 13 weeks and expect to have them for at least 39 weeks longer (this is called the ‘required period condition’).2Regs 10-14, 23 and 35(2) DAWAP(S) Regs
Special rules apply if you are regarded as terminally ill (see here) and when you are in prison, living in a care home, and in certain other situations (see Chapter 18).
Couples and adult disability payment
You claim ADP as an individual. If you are in a couple, one or both of you can claim ADP if you meet the criteria.
Getting adult disability payment if you are over pension age
You may be able to make a new claim for ADP after turning 66 if you had a previous award of ADP, DLA or PIP that ended less than a year before you claim.3Reg 23 DAWAP(S) Regs
The upper age limit for getting ADP also does not apply if you claimed ADP before turning 66, are already entitled to ADP when you turn 66, or are being transferred from PIP or DLA to ADP.4Reg 24 DAWAP(S) Regs
If you have turned 66 and cannot get ADP under one of these exceptions, you may be able to claim AA instead (see Chapter 12).
Even if you can get ADP over 66 under these rules, the amount of the mobility component that you can get might be restricted. There is more information in CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook.
The disability conditions
The health-related eligibility criteria for ADP are known as the ‘disability conditions’. You can still qualify if you do not consider yourself to have a disability.
Your entitlement to ADP is assessed using a points-based test. You ‘score’ points based on how your ‘mental or physical condition’ affects your ability to perform 12 different activities: 10 daily living activities and two mobility activities. The points you are given determine whether you get the daily living and/or the mobility component 1Part of a disability benefit paid if someone has difficulties getting about, including for mental health reasons. There is no mobility component of attendance allowance. of ADP, and whether you get the standard or enhanced rate(s) of each. The rules are largely the same as those for PIP. See here with reference to the list of differences below.
Differences from the personal independence payment conditions
Some of the wording in the ADP regulations is slightly different from the same provisions for PIP but, in practice, your entitlement should still be the same is it would be if you had claimed PIP. Most of the changes either clarify the meaning of the regulations or reflect PIP caselaw (decisions made by the Upper Tribunal and the courts which say how the law must be applied).
If you are claiming ADP with a mental health problem, the following are the main changes that are likely to be relevant.
    •For ADP, there is a definition of ‘needs’ in the regulations to ensure that you are assessed as needing a type of help if you reasonably require it, even if it is not available or not provided to you.1Reg 2 DAWAP(S) Regs This reflects PIP caselaw.
    •In deciding whether you can manage an activity ‘safely’ for ADP, both the likelihood and severity of any harm must be considered.2Reg 7(2)(b) and (3)(a) DAWAP(S) Regs This reflects PIP caselaw.
    •In deciding whether you can manage an activity ‘to an acceptable standard’ for ADP, the impact of carrying out the activity on you must be considered.3Reg 7(2)(b) and (3)(b) DAWAP(S) Regs This reflects PIP caselaw.
    •For ADP, you satisfy a descriptor if it applies during some part of the day (midnight to midnight) unless you do so only for a ‘minimal or fleeting’ time.4Reg 10(2) DAWAP(S) Regs This seems to be intended to reflect PIP caselaw.
    •‘Aid or appliance’: the ADP definition clarifies that to score points for using an aid or appliance, you must need to use it (rather than choosing to). It also makes it clear that aids and appliances can include things which are not designed for disabled people.5Reg 2 DAWAP(S) Regs This reflects PIP caselaw.
    •Daily living activity 3: unlike PIP, the definition of ‘medication’ for ADP includes medication prescribed or recommended by a ‘health professional registered by the Health and Care Professions Council’ who is not a doctor, nurse or pharmacist. There is list of the other regulated professions on the Health and Care Professions Council website.6Sch 1 Part 1 DAWAP(S) Regs; hcpc-uk.org/about-us/who-we-regulate/the-professions
    •Daily living activity 7: the ADP definition of ‘communication support’ contains extra words. The person providing support can be ‘trained or experienced in communicating with people in general, or the individual in particular’.7Sch 1 Part 1 DAWAP(S) Regs This reflects PIP caselaw.
    •Daily living activity 9: the title of the ADP activity and all of the descriptors have an extra word inserted which is not in the PIP assessment. In each case they refer to your ability to ‘engage socially with other people’.8Sch 1 Part 2 DAWAP(S) Regs This reflects PIP caselaw, which has confirmed that the definition of ‘engage socially’ applies to this activity. The definition of ‘social support’ also contains extra words. The person providing support can be ‘trained or experienced in assisting people in general, or the individual in particular…’.9Sch 1 Part 1 DAWAP(S) Regs This reflects PIP caselaw.
    •Mobility activity 1: the ADP regulations contain an extra definition that is not included in the PIP regulations. ‘Follow the route of a journey’ means ‘for an individual to navigate and make their way along a planned route to a planned destination’.10Sch 1 Part 1 DAWAP(S) Regs This appears to be intended to reflect PIP caselaw. Descriptor M1b also contains extra words. It reads: ‘Needs the prompting of another person to be able to undertake any journey to avoid overwhelming psychological distress to the individual.’11Sch 1 Part 3 DAWAP(S) Regs It appears that the intention is to leave beyond doubt that reminders from something other than a person (eg, reminder notifications set up on a mobile phone) cannot allow you to satisfy this descriptor.
PIP caselaw and ADP
PIP caselaw that has not been incorporated into the ADP rules is still likely to be persuasive in deciding your ADP entitlement. However, decision makers and tribunals are not bound to follow the PIP caselaw in every case, and over time the ADP assessment criteria may be interpreted differently by courts and tribunals, leading to new ADP caselaw.
2. The amount of benefit
The daily living component 1Part of personal independence payment and adult disability payment paid if someone has difficulties with certain daily living activities. of adult disability payment (ADP) is paid at one of two weekly rates:1Reg 34(1) DAWAP(S) Regs
    •the standard rate is £68.10;
    •the enhanced rate is £101.75.
The mobility component 2Part of a disability benefit paid if someone has difficulties getting about, including for mental health reasons. There is no mobility component of attendance allowance. of ADP is paid at one of two weekly rates:2Reg 34(2) DAWAP(S) Regs
    •the standard rate is £26.90;
    •the enhanced rate is £71.00.
3. Making a claim
How to claim
You can start a claim for adult disability payment (ADP):
The date of claim is usually the date you ‘submit’ your full name and date of birth to Social Security Scotland 1A Scottish government department that pays many devolved benefits in Scotland. (SSS), as long as you then provide the rest of the required information (see here). If you do not provide all of the required information within the time allowed your date of claim is the date you eventually provide it. You have not made a claim for ADP until you complete all of the required parts of your claim, and provide any required evidence to SSS.
Note: if you get child disability payment (CDP) and are aged 15–17, see here for information to help you to decide whether to claim ADP.
Claiming in advance and backdating
You can claim ADP in advance if you do not satisfy the entitlement conditions, but will do so within 13 weeks.1Reg 35(2) DAWAP(S) Regs This may be relevant if you do not satisfy the required period condition (see here) when you first claim.
You cannot backdate a claim for ADP, unless you are regarded as terminally ill.2Reg 26(4)-(6) and Sch 2 para 11(2) DAWAP(S) Regs If you might have qualified for ADP sooner but did not claim because you were given the wrong information or misled by SSS, you could complain and ask for compensation (see here).
Note: the term ‘backdating’ is often informally used to mean getting arrears of your benefit going back to a claim or decision date – eg, after winning an appeal. However, in this Handbook, we use backdating to mean getting paid benefit for a period before the date you claimed.
Additional support and appointees
If you have (or will have) difficulty with the claims process and need additional support, see Chapter 20. If you cannot manage the claims process at all you may need an appointee 1Someone authorised to claim and receive your benefit on your behalf, when you are unable to manage it yourself. (see here).
What you will be asked and how long it will take
To start your claim, you must provide SSS with your full name and date of birth. In practice, you are also asked questions about the residence and presence conditions at this point. SSS refers to this as ‘Part 1’ of your ADP claim.
Unless you are regarded as terminally ill (see here), you then have eight weeks to complete your claim by providing the rest of the required information (referred to as ‘Part 2’). This eight-week period can be extended if there is ‘good reason’ for the delay.1Reg 35(4) and (6) DAWAP(S) Regs Part 2 relates to how your condition(s) affect your ability to manage the different daily living and mobility activities and is covered in the ‘How you are assessed’ section of this chapter (see here).
Terminal illness
The rules about claiming ADP are different if you are terminally ill. You are regarded as ‘terminally ill’ if it is the judgement of a doctor or nurse who is involved in your care or diagnosis and acting in a professional capacity, that you have a progressive disease that can reasonably be expected to cause your death.1s31(1)(b) and Sch 5 para 1(2)-(3) SS(S)A 2018; reg 26(7), (8) and (10) DAWAP(S) Regs; SSS, Chief Medical Officer’s Guidance for Clinicians Completing a BASRiS Form, 29 June 2021, available at socialsecurity.gov.scot/guidance-resources/guidance/chief-medical-officers-guidance-for-clinicians-completing-a-basris-form-for-terminal-illness You should explain that the claim is on the grounds of terminal illness when making it (claims from terminally ill people are widely referred to as ‘special rules’ claims). Your GP, consultant or specialist nurse should complete Form DS1500, SR1 or a Benefits Assistance under Special Rules in Scotland (BASRiS) form,2SSS, Social Security: terminal illness, available at gov.scot/policies/social-security/terminal-illness giving details of your condition and prognosis.
If you claim ADP and you are regarded as terminally ill, you do not have to provide extra information about your care and mobility needs and are automatically entitled to the enhanced rates of both components.3Reg 26(1) DAWAP(S) Regs
Transfers to adult disability payment
Moving from personal independence payment to adult disability payment
If you get personal independence payment (PIP) and live in Scotland (or abroad and have a ‘genuine and sufficient’ link to Scotland), you will be automatically transferred to ADP without having to make a claim. You will be notified of this in writing. The notification will tell you how long the process will take and that your PIP will end when your ADP starts. If SSS later realises that you were wrongly sent a transfer notification or wants to extend the period allowed to transfer you to ADP, you are sent another notification about this.1Sch 2 paras 8 and 9(6)(c) DAWAP(S) Regs
When will you be transferred to ADP?
You will be transferred to ADP when your PIP award is due to be reviewed, or is coming to an end (see here). If your PIP award runs out in less than six months and you have not been told that you are being transferred to ADP, contact SSS and ask when you will be transferred.
You will also be transferred to ADP if you report a change of circumstances in relation to your PIP.2Sch 2 para 12(1)(a)(i) DAWAP(S) Regs
Unless you are regarded as terminally ill (see here), you are awarded the same rate of ADP as your previous PIP award.3Sch 2 para 9(5) DAWAP(S) Regs If you disagree with this, you can request a redetermination, or report a change of circumstances.
If you have reported a change of circumstances, whether to the DWP 1The Department for Work and Pensions. A central government department that pays many benefits in Great Britain. (which led to you being transferred) or to SSS upon being transferred, SSS then makes a further determination of your entitlement as soon as possible.4Sch 2 para 12(1)-(6) DAWAP(S) Regs
Moving to Scotland
If you get PIP and move to Scotland from another part of the UK, SSS must make a determination of your entitlement to ADP, without you needing to make a claim. Your ADP entitlement begins the day after your PIP award ends.
In this situation you are not automatically awarded ADP at the same rate as your PIP award. If you are asked to provide extra information, you should do so. If you do not agree with the amount of your ADP award, you can request a redetermination (see here).5Reg 52 DAWAP(S) Regs
Moving from disability living allowance to adult disability payment
You will be automatically transferred to ADP if you live in Scotland, get disability living allowance (DLA), were aged 16 or over and under 65 on 8 April 2013, are considered likely to be eligible for ADP, and you:1The Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Transitional Provisions and Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 SSI No.217
    •report a change of circumstances about your DLA; or
    •are due to have your DLA award renewed; or
    •make a claim for PIP; or
    •request a transfer from DLA to ADP.
You will be sent a ‘notice of intention’ to transfer you, which will include information about the transfer process. You will not need to make a claim for ADP or attend an assessment. Your new ADP award will usually be made at an equivalent rate to your DLA award and then reviewed within 12 months. See the CPAG Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook for more information.
Moving from child disability payment to adult disability payment
This process is covered in Chapter 11 (see here).
4. How you are assessed
Note: this assessment process does not apply if you are regarded as terminally ill (see here).
To get adult disability payment (ADP), you need to meet its ‘disability conditions’, set out on here. Social Security Scotland 1A Scottish government department that pays many devolved benefits in Scotland. (SSS) uses a standard assessment process to decide whether you meet those conditions.
The Part 2 form
On claiming ADP, you are asked to provide information about how your condition(s) affects your ability to manage the different daily living and mobility activities. This is known as Part 2 of the claims process (see here). If you do not complete it, or do not complete it in time, you are treated as not having made a claim.
You provide the information using an online Part 2 form (if you started your claim online) or on a paper Part 2 form. You can ask SSS to help you complete the form by telephoning 0800 182 2222. The form is similar to a personal independence payment (PIP) questionnaire, but with more detailed questions about each daily living and mobility activity. You should complete it in the same way as a PIP questionnaire (see here).
Timescales
You normally have eight weeks to return the Part 2 form.1Reg 35(4) DAWAP(S) Regs This eight-week period can be extended if there is ‘good reason’ for the delay.2Reg 35(6) DAWAP(S) Regs You should contact SSS and ask for an extension as soon as possible if you need more time.
Supporting evidence
You are usually asked to provide supporting evidence – eg, reports from your doctor or other professionals, a letter from somebody who knows you well, and/or a diary of symptoms.1SSS, Decision Making Guide: gathering supporting information for adult disability payment, paras 2, 8-15 and 32-4, available at socialsecurity.gov.scot/asset-storage/production/downloads/Gathering-supporting-information-for-Adult-Disability-Payment_2022-10-19-073916.pdf See Chapter 15 for more information about supporting evidence. Do not delay submitting the claim while waiting for evidence; it can be provided later by post or online at mygov.scot. However, note that if you do not provide requested information within the period allowed, you may get a determination (or a ‘process decision’) that you are not entitled to ADP.2s54(2) SS(S)A 2018 You can challenge this (see here).
If you are not able to provide supporting evidence yourself, you can ask SSS to gather it on your behalf. You are asked about this when completing the Part 2 form.
The assessment
You can be asked to take part in an assessment if SSS believes it is needed to determine your entitlement. SSS refers to this as a ‘consultation’. A consultation can be carried out by telephone, video call or face to face (in your home or somewhere else). It is likely you will be offered a telephone assessment but your needs and wishes should be taken into account.1s14(a) and (b) SS(S)A 2018; SSS, Decision Making Guide: consultations for adult disability payment, available at socialsecurity.gov.scot A supporter (eg, a family member, friend or adviser) can take part in your assessment, including speaking on your behalf, unless this is considered unreasonable by SSS.2s59 SS(S)A 2018 The assessment is audio recorded unless you ask for this not to happen.3Scottish government, Adult Disability Payment Consultations: audio recording of consultation, 29 August 2022, available at mygov.scot/adult-disability-payment-consultations/audio-recording-consultation
The advice about what to do at an assessment is similar to that for PIP. For tips on how to prepare for an assessment see here, for what to expect in the assessment see here and for what happens after the assessment see here.
If you do not take part in an assessment
If you have been asked to take part in an assessment and cannot do so, explain this to SSS as soon as possible and ask for it to be rearranged. If you have already missed it, contact SSS as soon as possible with an explanation. Guidance suggests that if you do not attend an assessment, a determination will normally be made based on the information that SSS already has about you. However, the law also allows SSS to make a determination that you are not entitled to ADP simply because you did not take part in the assessment.4s54(3) SS(S)A 2018; SSS, Decision Making Guide: Consultations for Adult Disability Payment, para 17, available at socialsecurity.gov.scot
If this happens, you can request a redetermination (see here). You should make a new claim for ADP as well, in case your challenge is unsuccessful.
5. Decisions
Getting a determination
You get decisions about adult disability payment (ADP) by letter.1ss37 and 40 SS(S)A 2018 In the Scottish benefits system, these decisions are known as ‘determinations’.
If you disagree with a determination, you can challenge it by asking for a redetermination and then pursuing an appeal if necessary (see Chapter 19). Note that there are deadlines for challenging determinations.
If you challenge a determination, Social Security Scotland 1A Scottish government department that pays many devolved benefits in Scotland. (SSS) or a tribunal can look at all the ADP disability conditions again, not just the ones that you ask it to reconsider. This means that, following a redetermination or appeal, your award could decrease instead of increasing. It is usually best to get advice before challenging a determination.
You may be able to get interim payments of ADP at the same rate as your previous award while a redetermination request is being considered and while an appeal is pending. This is known as ‘short-term assistance’ (see here).
Length of awards
ADP is awarded without a fixed end date. When making an award, SSS can (but does not always) specify a period after which it will review your ADP award, if it thinks that your needs are likely to change. The length of any review period should be based on whether, and how soon, your needs are likely to change. If you get the enhanced rate of both ADP components and your needs are unlikely to change (or only unlikely to increase) you should not be set a review period. If a review period is set, SSS must make a new determination of your entitlement after that period ends (see here).1Regs 37 and 47 DAWAP(S) Regs; SSS, Decision Making Guide: choosing an appropriate review period for adult disability payment, available at socialsecurity.gov.scot
SSS can reduce or stop the award earlier if it has grounds to (see here).
6. Getting paid
When you are paid
Adult disability payment (ADP) is usually paid every four weeks in arrears. If you are regarded as terminally ill, you are paid weekly in advance instead.1Reg 36 DAWAP(S) Regs You will start to be paid ADP after a decision has been made on your claim.
Note: it is possible for payment of ADP to be suspended (see here).
Where your payment goes
The default is that your ADP is paid into your bank account.
Note:
    •Payment of your ADP can be made to another person for your benefit, if Social Security Scotland 1A Scottish government department that pays many devolved benefits in Scotland. (SSS) considers this is appropriate.1Reg 33(1) DAWAP(S) Regs This might be useful if, for example, you want a trusted family member to look after your ADP income because your mental health problem makes it difficult for you to manage money.
    •The enhanced rate of the mobility component 2Part of a disability benefit paid if someone has difficulties getting about, including for mental health reasons. There is no mobility component of attendance allowance. can be paid directly to Motability (see here).
    •Deductions can be made from ADP to recover an overpayment 3An amount of benefit that is paid which is more than a person’s entitlement. of another SSS benefit.2Reg 44 DAWAP(S) Regs This is rare in practice.
    •Your ADP payments can be suspended if you fail to provide information when you are asked to (see here) or if there are issues about the person your benefit is being paid to. SSS must consider your financial circumstances before making a decision to suspend payment.3Regs 38 and 39 DAWAP(S) Regs
7. Reviews and reassessments
Scheduled reviews
When Social Security Scotland 1A Scottish government department that pays many devolved benefits in Scotland. (SSS) makes an award of adult disability payment (ADP), it may specify a review date when it plans to look at the award again and make a new determination on your entitlement. SSS calls this a ‘scheduled review’. There is more information about how review periods are set on here.1Regs 37 and 47 DAWAP(S) Regs; SSS, Decision Making Guide: choosing an appropriate review period for adult disability payment, available at socialsecurity.gov.scot
As part of the review process, you are likely to be asked to complete a form, and may be invited to an assessment, similarly to when you make a new claim for ADP (see here).
Change of circumstances
You should report changes in your circumstances to SSS as soon as possible.
You can report a change by telephone or in writing, including online.1s56(2)(b) SS(S)A 2018; report a change online at applications.socialsecurity.gov.scot/if-your-circumstances-change It can be preferable to report a change in writing so that there is a clear record of what you have said and when.
It is usually best to get independent advice before reporting a change in your health that you think might affect your entitlement to ADP.
If there has been a relevant change of circumstances, a decision maker looks at the award again and makes a new determination (see here).2Reg 48 DAWAP(S) Regs
Ongoing evidence requirements
If SSS is reviewing your ADP award, or it thinks that your circumstances may have changed, it can ask you to provide further information.
If you do not provide the information within the time limit SSS sets you to do so, your ADP payments can be suspended.1s54 SS(S)A 2018; reg 38 DAWAP(S)Regs
 If you need more time to provide the information, contact SSS as soon as possible to request an extension.
8. Adult disability payment and other benefits
Adult disability payment (ADP) interacts with other benefits and tax credits in the same ways that personal independence payment (PIP) does. There are the same benefit cap 1The maximum yearly amount of benefits that someone can receive. Not all benefits are included and not all people are affected. exemptions for ADP as for PIP, and the same rules about Motability apply. See here.