Adult Disability Payment (ADP)

Adult Disability Payment (ADP)

• Adult Disability Payment is provided by the Scottish Government for adults age 16 and over with a physical or mental disability. The decision and application process is run by Social Security Scotland.
• You cannot claim both ADP and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for adults.
• The benefit is needs based, not income based, so it doesn’t matter if you are working or what level of income you have.
• No diagnosis is required however they will be looking for evidence from professionals that they agree with the statements you have given, so any speech and language assessments, paediatrician reports etc are very helpful. If you do not have evidence you can ask the school or college to write a report based on the questions in the form and send this with the application. The responsibility to provide evidence sits with you.
• The form is quite lengthy and covers a wide range of support and mobility needs, both during the day and at night. There are agencies who can help with the form, these are listed in the section below. There is a guide to help with the form and some of the terminology used here: https://contact.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Adult-Disability-Payment-Scotland.pdf
• The assessment team will review the form and make two decisions; what rate will be provided for the daily living element, and what rate will be provided for the mobility element. The current rates can be found on their website: https://www.mygov.scot/adult-disability-payment
• The payment is backdated to the date you apply even though the process can take 3-6 months for a decision to be made. NOTE: even if your child received Child Disability Payment (CDP) you need to submit a new application for Adult Disability Payment (ADP). Receiving CDP gives no indication on what rate of ADP they will receive and will be assessed by a different team at Social Security Scotland. The process can take several months; you can apply any time from when they are 15, soon to turn 16,  until their 18th birthday. If your application is successful,  you will not have any gaps between payments and they will continue to receive CDP while the decision is made on their ADP application.
• Once the decision is made an outcome letter will be sent to you.
• If you are unhappy with the decision you can apply for a redetermination where the case will be looked at by a different team. There is a risk that team may decide on a lower rate than you were previously offered, but if you are unhappy with the redetermination you can ask for that decision to be looked at again.
• The form can be completed online (https://www.mygov.scot/adult-disability-payment/how-to-apply) or you can call Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222 (8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday) and ask for a paper application.
• If you receive the enhanced mobility rate you can apply to lease a mobility car, Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV), scooter or powered wheelchair through the Motability scheme. The benefit is paid directly to Motability on your behalf in exchange for the vehicle you receive.