How to claim Adult Disability Payment

In Scotland if you have a cancer diagnosis, you may be able to claim a benefit called Adult Disability Payment (ADP). This is a benefit for people under State Pension age who have problems with everyday tasks, getting around or both due to long term health conditions or disability.

If you have reached State Pension age and are making a new claim, you should claim Pension Age Disability Payment instead of ADP.

We are here to help if you have questions about benefits. Call us free on 0808 808 00 00 to talk to a Macmillan money adviser, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm.

Part 1 – personal details

Part 1 of the Adult Disability Payment application asks about your personal details. You will need:

• your personal details, including your main address
• your National Insurance number
• your bank, building society or credit union account details
• details of any travel you have done outside the Common Travel Area in the last year.

Part 2 – questions about your health

Part 2 checks how your health problems affect your daily life. The form asks you questions about everyday activities, such as preparing food. You will need: 

• information about your condition, including any medication or treatment you are having
• information about any medical tests, and their results
• your GP’s contact details, or details of other healthcare professionals.

Supporting information

Supplying supporting information when you submit your application can mean that your application is processed quicker. Supporting information includes:

• social care assessments
• medical reports and letters
• prescription information
• medical test results.

You do not need to add supporting information to your application. Social Security Scotland can gather information on your behalf.

There is more information about supporting information for disability benefits on mygov.scot

Here are some tips for completing the form:

• Make sure you have plenty of time to complete the form. You may find it helpful to read it through first. Then you can get all the information you need before you start.
• Try to include as much detail as possible about how your condition affects your daily life. For each activity, try to explain how you manage on good days and on bad days. And explain how often you have good and bad days.
• You may want to record any problems you have every day in a diary to show how your condition affects your daily life. We have a diary you can use to do this. You can send it as supporting evidence along with your form.

It may also be helpful to get evidence about your illness from the people involved in your care. Send this with your form, or soon afterwards. You could ask for evidence from your:

• GP
• cancer doctor or specialist nurse
• support worker
• carer – this is anyone who gives you help and support that you could not manage without, such as help with daily tasks
• consultant.

You will be assessed for ADP based on your application form. The assessment gives points depending on how difficult it is for you to do a range of activities.

If needed, you may be asked for some more information that supports your application. For example, reports or care plans from your GP, doctor, nurse or other healthcare professionals.

Sometimes you will need to have a consultation meeting to give more information.

You will get a letter that explains whether you will get ADP, which parts you will get, and how much you will get for each part.

It will include information about the score you were given for each activity and why you were given each score.

Daily living

You may get the daily living part of ADP if you need help more than half of the time with activities like:

• preparing or eating food
• eating and drinking
• taking medicines and managing treatments
• monitoring a health condition
• washing and bathing
• using the toilet or managing incontinence
• dressing and undressing
• communicating with other people
• reading and understanding signs, symbols and words
• engaging with other people face to face
• making decisions about money.

Mobility

You may get the mobility part of ADP if you need help:

• going out – for example, planning and following a route to another place
• moving around – for example, walking.

You do not have to have a physical disability to get the mobility part. For example, you may also be eligible if you have difficulty moving around because of memory or concentration problems, or a mental health condition such as anxiety.