2. Adult disability payment

2. Adult disability payment

• Who can get adult disability payment
• Disability test: daily living and mobility components
• Amount of benefit

Adult disability payment (ADP) replaces personal independence payment (PIP) for working age adults in Scotland. It was introduced for new claims in pilot areas from March 2022 and rolled out across the rest of Scotland for new claims from 29 August 2022. You cannot get ADP if you already get PIP (or disability living allowance or attendance allowance). If you are already getting PIP you will be transferred to ADP without having to make a claim for it. ADP is a benefit for working age people with mobility problems and/or care needs as a result of a disability or health condition. It is not means tested and you do not have to have paid any national insurance contributions to get it. Social Security Scotland is responsible for the administration of ADP.

Who can get adult disability payment

• Disability test: daily living and mobility components

You qualify for ADP if you:1s31 and Sch 5 SS(S)A 2018; reg 3 DAWAP(S) Regs

•normally live in Scotland and satisfy certain other residence and presence conditions and you are not a ‘person subject to immigration control’. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook for details; and
•are 16 or over and under pension age when you first claim; and
•are terminally ill (see below) or you satisfy the disability test for the daily living component (see here) and/or the mobility component (see here), and have done so for the last 13 weeks and are likely to continue to do so for the next 39 weeks.

Terminal illness

If you are terminally ill under the ADP rules, you qualify for the enhanced rate of both components.2Reg 26 DAWAP(S) Regs ‘Terminally ill’ means that, in the judgement of a registered medical practitioner or a registered nurse, who is involved in your care or diagnosis, you have a progressive disease that can be reasonably expected to cause death.3Reg 26(7) and (10) DAWAP(S) Regs The medical practitioner or nurse must have regard to the guidance published by the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland.4Reg 26(8) DAWAP(S) Regs

 

1     s31 and Sch 5 SS(S)A 2018; reg 3 DAWAP(S) Regs »

2     Reg 26 DAWAP(S) Regs »

3     Reg 26(7) and (10) DAWAP(S) Regs »

4     Reg 26(8) DAWAP(S) Regs »

Disability test: daily living and mobility components

In addition to satisfying the basic conditions of entitlement, you qualify for a component of ADP if your ability to undertake either ‘daily living activities’ or ‘mobility activities’ is limited by your mental or physical condition (for the standard rate) or is severely limited by your mental or physical condition (for the enhanced rate).1Regs 5 and 6 DAWAP(S) Regs Your ability is assessed by a points-based test which considers how your mental and/or physical condition affects your ability to undertake specific activities.

The relevant ‘daily living activities’are:

•preparing food;
•taking nutrition;
•managing therapy or monitoring a health condition;
•washing and bathing;
•managing toilet needs or incontinence;
•dressing and undressing;
•communicating verbally;
•reading and understanding signs, symbols and words;
•engaging socially with other people face to face;
•making budgeting decisions.

The relevant ‘mobility activities’ are:

•planning and following journeys;
•moving around.

Under each of the activities, there is a list of statements (called ‘descriptors’) which describe different difficulties or types of help needed with the activity. Each descriptor has a points score, and you are awarded one descriptor for each activity. Your entitlement to a component is assessed by:2Regs 8 and 9 DAWAP(S) Regs

•adding together the descriptors that you satisfy for each activity relevant to that component; and
•comparing your total score with a ‘threshold’ for entitlement to the standard or enhanced rates of the component. The threshold is eight points for the standard rate and 12 points for the enhanced rate.

You are only awarded points for a particular descriptor (rather than a higher scoring one) if you can undertake the activity:3Reg 7 DAWAP(S) Regs

•safely - ie, in a way that is unlikely to cause harm to you or anyone else;
•to an acceptable standard - ie, to a reasonable standard for the activity, taking into account the impact on you of carrying out the activity to that standard;
•repeatedly - ie, as often as is reasonably required;
•within a reasonable time period - ie, not more than twice the maximum time normally take by someone with no health problems or disability to complete the activity.

 

1     Regs 5 and 6 DAWAP(S) Regs »

2     Regs 8 and 9 DAWAP(S) Regs »

3     Reg 7 DAWAP(S) Regs »

Amount of benefit

Weekly rate
Daily living component
Standard	£68.10
Enhanced	£101.75
Mobility component
Standard	£26.90
Enhanced	£71.00