The Scottish Ministers have extinguished the right to claim personal independence payment (PIP) for most people in Scotland aged 16 or over, under regulations made on 27 January 2022 and in force from 21 March 20221. The Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Consequential and Miscellaneous Amendment and Transitional Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 state that "No person may claim personal independence payment who is aged 16 years or older"1.
The bar applies to people who are able to apply for adult disability payment, the Scottish replacement for PIP for new applicants1. The initial application period runs from 21 March 2022 to 29 August 2022 and is being introduced in three phases, defined by where the claimant lives1.
| Phase | Local authority areas |
|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Perthshire and Kinross, City of Dundee, Western Isles |
| Phase 2 | Perthshire and Kinross, City of Dundee, Western Isles, Angus, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire |
| Phase 3 | Perthshire and Kinross, City of Dundee, Western Isles, Angus, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Fife, City of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, North Ayrshire, East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire |
The regulations also amend other legislation so that people entitled to adult disability payment have the same entitlements and disregards as those entitled to PIP1. The amendments cover council tax discounts, the assessment of resources for residential care, advice and assistance and civil legal aid, student loans, blue badges for motor vehicles, the national bus travel concession scheme, and NHS travelling expenses and remission of charges1. For blue badges, the regulations set out qualifying scores: 12 points for mobility activity 1 (planning and following journeys) for the enhanced rate of the mobility component, or at least 8 points for mobility activity 2 (moving around) for the standard or enhanced rate1.
"The amendments ensure that individuals who are entitled to adult disability payment have the same entitlements and disregards under that legislation as individuals who are entitled to personal independence payment"
The regulations also refer to people born after 8 April 1948 and to a further claim for PIP made during a period of 6 months mentioned in a regulation, without setting out the full terms of that exception in the text quoted here1. The extent to which claims continue in other circumstances has not been reported in the material available.
Why it matters for households
For adults in Scotland who are not already on PIP, the route to disability assistance for working age people is now adult disability payment rather than PIP, from 21 March 20221. The change is being rolled out by local authority area, so whether the PIP claim route is closed depends on where the person lives and which phase applies1. Existing PIP claimants are not covered by the wording quoted here, which addresses new claims; the position of people already receiving PIP, and how awards transfer, has not been reported in the material available.
The knock-on effects matter because adult disability payment is written into the same passported entitlements as PIP, including council tax discounts, blue badges, the bus travel concession scheme, student loan treatment and legal aid means tests1. People who move between Scotland and the rest of the UK face different rules on each side of the border, and the guide to disability and carer payments when moving between Scotland and the rest of the UK covers that. Separate Scottish payments exist for children and for people of pension age, covered in the guides to child disability payment and pension age disability payment, while disability living allowance continues for children and for existing adult claims.
What happens next
The initial application period ends on 29 August 2022, with the three phases of local authority areas set out in the regulations1. The regulations came into force on 21 March 20221.
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