Adult disability payment: consultation

Introduction

The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 enables the Scottish Government to provide non-means tested Disability Assistance, equivalent to that currently provided by Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance. This document sets out the Scottish Government's proposed policy approach to replacing Personal Independence Payment with Adult Disability Payment.

The Disability Assistance in Scotland Consultation ran from March to May 2019 and sought views on our overarching proposals for the delivery of devolved Disability Assistance. There was a great deal of engagement with the consultation which received over 250 responses from a range of stakeholder organisations and individuals. The feedback was broadly positive and a majority of respondents agreed with most of the proposals set out in the consultation.

Having published our response in October 2019, we entered a period of intense development, drawing on the feedback to design the client journey through the Adult Disability Payment application process. As has been of central importance throughout, we repeatedly sought the views of those with experience of the current benefit system. The invaluable input of the Disability and Carers Benefit Expert Advisory Group has also influenced the policy we are now consulting on.

Our overriding commitment throughout the devolution of social security has been ensuring the safe and secure transition to Scottish Disability Assistance. We have consistently communicated that when Adult Disability Payment is first delivered, it will be with largely the same eligibility criteria as provided by the current Personal Independence Payment framework and this is reflected in these draft regulations. At the same time, this has not limited our aspirations and Adult Disability Payment will be delivered in-keeping with our values of dignity, fairness and respect. Significant changes to both the application and decision making processes will contribute to the fundamentally different experience clients of Social Security Scotland can expect.