Almost two thirds (63%) of adults in Scotland who were previously getting Personal Independence Payment are now receiving Adult Disability Payment.

This marks a milestone in the ambitious project to safely and securely transfer the disability and carers benefit awards of everyone in Scotland, allowing them to benefit from a new system based on dignity, fairness and respect.

Adult Disability Payment was designed in partnership with disabled people to be better than the benefit it is replacing. A significant improvement was ending the time-consuming and demanding re-assessments carried out by the DWP to decide if someone’s support should continue.  

In Scotland, these have been replaced with light touch reviews that ensure people are getting the right support without requiring them to provide unnecessary information or face a private sector assessment.

All disability and carer benefits are expected to be transferred to Social Security Scotland by the end of 2025, with benefit awards for disabled children already fully transferred.

A recent survey found almost 90% of people who had their disability benefit moved to Social Security Scotland said they were informed about the process and the communication was clear.

Shirley-Anne Somerville, cabinet secretary for social justice, said: “This is an important milestone in the devolution of benefits to Scotland.

“People who received DWP benefits talked about the system being inhumane. They had experienced a system which did not get the decision right first time and which involved degrading assessments run by private providers.

“That worry is over for many now as we have moved the awards of hundreds of thousands of people to our new system, where they can benefit from its founding principles of dignity, fairness and respect.

“Adult Disability Payment was designed in partnership with disabled people to be better, fairer and easier to access.

“We are continuing to transfer the awards of disabled people from the DWP to our new system.

“If you are waiting to have your award transferred, please be assured that you do not need to do anything. The move will begin automatically and there will not be any gaps or changes to your payments.”