Scottish Government Response to the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment Final Report

Fiscal and constitutional context

5. The Scottish Government’s powers over social security are largely derived from the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, which established the framework for devolved benefits, including ADP. While the Government is committed to maximising the opportunities created by partial devolution, its ambitions remain significantly constrained by budgets set primarily at Westminster.

6. The outcome of the UK Autumn Budget of November 2025 highlighted the fiscal pressures Scotland faces: limited funding growth and rising costs continue to constrain devolved budgets, including social security. Recent UK decisions, such as only partially funding increased employment costs and introducing VAT and Insurance Premium Tax changes for Motability, illustrate how UK fiscal policy impacts Scotland’s ability to invest in our priorities. While these changes do not directly affect the funding we receive from the Social Security Block Grant Adjustments, they may influence client choices and uptake of schemes, underlining the ongoing significance of UK decisions for devolved benefits.

7. The Scottish Government will continue to stick to the actions set out in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan, which set out our approach to keeping the public finances on a sustainable path despite these challenges. Alongside fiscal management, steps are being taken to strengthen Social Security Scotland’s capacity. These include further measures to tackle fraud and error, investment in critical digital platforms, and improvements to operational delivery.

8.Our investment in social security is underpinned by the legal requirement to balance the Scottish Budget each year. We are proud that our system has been deliberately designed to deliver dignity, fairness, and respect. This does not mean that social security policy is immune from the difficult choices Ministers must make when considering their priorities for spending and investment across the whole of the Scottish Budget.

9. Despite this, we have chosen to prioritise a substantial investment in social security spending. The Scottish Fiscal Commission’s January 2026 forecasts, which were published alongside the Scottish Budget on 13 January 2026, outlined investment in Social Security Assistance of £7.2 billion in 2026-27, and estimated to rise to £9.0 billion by 2030-31. Implementing all the recommendations from the review would require substantial additional investment beyond that which we receive from the UK Government via the Social Security Block Grant Adjustment. To ensure any changes we make are affordable and deliver positive, long-term outcomes and value for money, further modelling and forecasting will need to be undertaken on a range of specific proposals.

10. Finally, the relationship between Scotland’s devolved disability assistance and the reserved UK benefits system must be considered. The UK Government has not committed to permanently recognising ADP as an equivalent benefit to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for access to reserved benefits, and changes to ADP may affect reserved benefit entitlement. At the time of writing, the UK Government intends to abolish the Work Capability Assessment, affecting how ADP clients will access the health element of Universal Credit. Any changes in ADP eligibility must therefore be carefully weighed against these potential consequences.