The Disability Assistance (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) Regulations 2025: equality impact assessment

1. Executive Summary

The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (the 2018 Act) sets out the broad framework for the delivery of the Scottish Government's social security benefits.^[1] On 1 April 2020, executive and legal competence for disability benefits, including Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance was transferred to Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Government has now replaced Disability Living Allowance for children with Child Disability Payment, and Personal Independence Payment with Adult Disability Payment for eligible people in Scotland. We intend to replace Attendance Allowance with Pension Age Disability Payment from 2024 and Disability Living Allowance for adults with Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance from 2025. Disability Living Allowance for adults is currently being delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of the Scottish Government under the terms of an Agency Agreement.

Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance will be delivered by Social Security Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Like Disability Living Allowance for adults under the Department for Work and Pensions, Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance will be a closed benefit, meaning it will not be available to new applicants. It will only be available to those whose awards are transferring from Disability Living Allowance for adults.

The draft Disability Assistance (Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance) Regulations 2025 set out the eligibility criteria and how Social Security Scotland will deliver Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance. Section 31 of the 2018 Act sets out the legal basis on which Scottish Ministers make regulations for the rules and structures of disability assistance.

The regulations also make provision for the transfer of responsibility for delivering disability benefits for adults who receive Disability Living Allowance in Scotland, from the Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of Scottish Ministers to Social Security Scotland.

Additionally, the regulations will include provision to change the disability benefit of these people from Disability Living Allowance to Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance. We refer to this process as "case transfer".

The case details and relevant supporting information for these clients will also transfer to Social Security Scotland. Based on estimates provided by the Scottish Government's Communities Analysis Division, there are anticipated to be around 66,000 people with awards of Disability Living Allowance in scope for transfer by the time Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance is launched in Spring 2025.^[2]

Scottish Ministers have set out a number of case transfer principles which we have used to guide the development of our approach to case transfer. The principles are:

• Correct payment at the correct time – ensuring that the case transfer process is designed so that clients will receive the same amount for the Scottish benefit as they received for the corresponding UK benefit. A safe and secure transfer is the priority.
• No re-applications - we will not require clients to apply for their new benefit as part of the case transfer. We will work with Department for Work and Pensions to move clients automatically to Social Security Scotland and the corresponding new Scottish benefit.
• No face to face Department for Work and Pensions re-assessments - we will, wherever possible, ensure that no-one will be subject to a face to face re-assessment by Department for Work and Pensions when new applications for Adult Disability Payment are open across Scotland.
• Complete as soon as possible – Scottish Ministers have been clear that they want to complete the transfer of cases as soon as is possible in a way that will be safe and secure, and not create unacceptable risks for clients.
• Clear communication with clients – we will inform our clients the date their case will be transferred and will keep them informed at the various stages of the case transfer process.

The public sector equality duty is a legislative requirement which states that the Scottish Government must assess the impact of applying a proposed new or revised policy or practice on groups with protected characteristics. Policies should reflect that different people have different needs. Equality legislation covers the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation as well as marriage and civil partnership.

This Equality Impact Assessment has identified potential impacts on people in receipt of Disability Living Allowance in Scotland, as a result of replacing Disability Living Allowance with Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance and transferring their awards.

It was found that, overall, the Scottish Government's policy has a number of improvements on the existing process which would have a positive impact on people in Scotland with protected characteristics. Where areas of improvement have been identified, the Scottish Government has made changes to better meet the needs of people living in Scotland.