Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment: call for evidence

Section 4 – Decisions, re-determinations and appeals

People who receive a decision about Adult Disability Payment have the right to ask Social Security Scotland to look again at the decision if they disagree with it.

This is called a re-determination and the decision will be looked at again by a different team.

People have 42 calendar days to ask for a re-determination, as some people may need longer to get advice and support with the process.

Social Security Scotland can accept a late re-determination request, up to a maximum of one year, if there is a good reason for it. The re-determination process involves completing and submitting an online or paper form and returning it to Social Security Scotland.

Social Security Scotland has 56 calendar days to make a new decision once it has received a re-determination request.

In Scotland, a person has the right to appeal directly to the First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland’s Social Security Chamber if Social Security Scotland does not complete the re-determination process within the 56 calendar days.

During the re-determination process, short-term assistance is available where a person’s existing entitlement has been reduced or stopped. Short-term assistance is a temporary payment which tops up the amount a person is paid to ensure they continue to receive the same amount of money they were getting (even if their entitlement to Adult Disability Payment has ended). This does not need to be paid back.

Disagreeing with a decision about PIP

For context, people who disagree with a decision about PIP can ask the UK Government to reconsider the decision^[6]. This is called a mandatory reconsideration and involves submitting a hard copy letter stating the reasons for the disagreement within one month of the decision letter.

However, people can still ask for a mandatory reconsideration within 13 months of the decision letter if it was not possible for them to ask for this by the one-month deadline. DWP does not have a time limit to respond and do not have an equivalent to short-term assistance payments.

An appeal cannot take place until the mandatory reconsideration process is complete.

The following questions ask about how people understand the re-determination and appeals process and their experiences when going through that process with Adult Disability Payment.

Question 8

Thinking about when a decision on an Adult Disability Payment application is made, do you have any evidence about how clearly the reasons for the decision are explained to the person?

Question 9

Do you have any evidence about how well-informed people feel during the re-determination process?

Question 10

Can you provide specific examples of factors that influence whether a person will request a re-determination of a decision made on an Adult Disability Payment application?

Question 11

Can you provide specific examples of factors that may influence whether a person will appeal an Adult Disability Payment decision?