Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment: final report

Methodology

Considering the views and experiences of people with lived or living experience of a long-term health condition, disability or terminal illness, and the organisations who support them, has been a key priority for me throughout this Review. Their input is at the heart of this report. To gather their views and experiences, I conducted a comprehensive programme of engagement:

• I recruited and regularly met with an Advisory Group, consisting of ten members representing individuals with lived or living experience of a long-term health condition, disability or terminal illness.
• I invited people to share their experiences of Adult Disability Payment by responding to a public consultation and call for evidence between 28 June and 30 August 2024.
• As part of the public consultation, I hosted a series of eight in-person events across Scotland and one online event, to provide an alternative method for people to contribute to the consultation.
• Since the beginning of the Review in February 2024, I have met with a broad range of stakeholder groups and organisations who work with disabled people, including people with lived or living experience of Adult Disability Payment, to discuss their experience and gather their views.
• Throughout the course of the Review, I met on multiple occasions with Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland officials to gain a better understanding of the policy landscape and internal processes which shape people’s experience of the Adult Disability Payment client journey.

Advisory Group

One of the first actions I undertook as Chair was to appoint members to an Advisory Group. The purpose of the Advisory Group was to provide me with their guidance, expertise and scrutiny to ensure that the Review was being conducted effectively, fairly and with integrity.

I met quarterly with the Advisory Group and minutes of these meetings were published online.^[15]

Topics which were discussed during these meetings included:

• what the main priorities of the Review should be
• the consultation and call for evidence
• the interim report
• stakeholder engagement
• engagement with seldom-heard groups
• the eligibility criteria.

In addition to these regular meetings, I met with members on an ad hoc basis to draw from their knowledge of specific areas over the course of the Review. I issued fortnightly updates to members to keep them informed on the progress of the Review.

Scottish Government mobility component consultation

Prior to my appointment as Chair, the Scottish Government ran a public consultation on the mobility component^[16] between 31 January and 25 April 2023. The consultation aimed to gather a wide range of views on alternative approaches to the mobility component and identify any gaps, issues or unintended consequences of any suggested changes.

This consultation covered the following areas:

• the moving around activity
• the planning and following journeys activity
• support for people with fluctuating conditions
• other considerations for the independent review.

The Scottish Government also organised six engagement events. The Lines Between facilitated these events on behalf of the Scottish Government. In total, 22 individuals and 12 representatives from stakeholder organisations attended the events.

A total of 173 individuals and 37 organisations provided responses to the consultation. Responses to the consultation were independently analysed by The Lines Between and the analysis report^[17] was published on 14 August 2023.

Public consultation

Between 28 June and 30 August 2024, I invited people to share their experiences of Adult Disability Payment by responding to a public consultation^[18]. Whilst responses were open to all, my intention was that the consultation was primarily for responses from people with lived and living experience of accessing (or trying to access) Adult Disability Payment.

The consultation covered the following areas:

• take-up of Adult Disability Payment
• eligibility check
• pre-application support for Adult Disability Payment applications
• rules about who can get Adult Disability Payment
• the fluctuating conditions section of the Adult Disability Payment application
• asking about a person’s daily living activities
• decision-making
• re-determinations
• review periods and indefinite awards
• processing times
• changes in people’s circumstances
• other considerations.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on the mobility component and Supporting Information Evaluation provided relevant evidence about the mobility component and supporting information. Therefore, this consultation focused primarily on the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment.

I received a total of 84 responses to this consultation, with 80 responses from individuals and four from organisations. Responses to the consultation were independently analysed by The Lines Between and the analysis report^[19] was published on 29 November 2024.

Call for evidence

Between 28 June and 30 August 2024, I also invited people to share any available data and evidence relevant to key elements of the Adult Disability Payment process.^[20] Whilst responses were open to all, my intention was that the call for evidence was for responses from stakeholder organisations.

The call for evidence covered the following areas:

• factors affecting take-up of Adult Disability Payment
• pre-application support for Adult Disability Payment applications
• processing times for Adult Disability Payment applications
• decisions, re-determinations and appeals
• informing Social Security Scotland about a change of circumstances
• review periods
• other considerations.

The call for evidence did not ask questions about the eligibility criteria or fluctuating conditions. However, I asked questions about these in the consultation and at events. I received a range of evidence regarding the stages of the Adult Disability Payment process. These items of evidence often contained feedback from the responding organisation’s own stakeholders; with case studies tending to account for people’s lived experience.

I received a total of 36 responses to the call for evidence, with 7 responses from individuals and 29 from organisations. Responses to the call for evidence were independently analysed by The Lines Between, and the analysis report^[21] was published on 29 November 2024.

Consultation events

To provide an alternative method of responding to the consultation, I held a series of eight in-person engagement events across Scotland, and one online event. The Lines Between independently facilitated these on my behalf.

Whilst I welcomed views on any aspect of Adult Disability Payment, the events focused on the following key stages of applying for Adult Disability Payment:

• awareness of Adult Disability Payment and pre-application support
• the eligibility criteria
• asking about daily living needs
• getting a decision.

A total of 47 people attended these events, with 19 individuals and 28 organisational representatives.

Stakeholder engagement

Over the course of the Review, I met with over 70 different stakeholder organisations through both roundtable events and meetings with individual organisations, attended by over 160 individuals. Each meeting gave me the opportunity to hear about the areas that impact specific groups of disabled people as well as hearing many stories and experiences of individual Adult Disability Payment journeys.

Whilst I have endeavoured to capture a range of views as part of my report, I acknowledge that not all views expressed are representative of disabled people’s experiences, or the organisations who support disabled people.

Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland

I also met on multiple occasions with Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland officials, who provided valuable insights into the design and delivery of Adult Disability Payment. Their input helped me to better understand the Adult Disability Payment process, as well as the research which forms the basis of decisions taken with regards to the delivery of the benefit. This understanding has been an invaluable asset when considering the practicalities and implications of my recommendations.