Forty percent of claims for Adult Disability Payment rejected by Social Security Scotland

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scots trying to claim a new disability benefit introduced by the SNP Government have faced a “brutal” knock back rate of 40pc.The high number of refusals for Adult Disability Payment in a one month snapshot has led to the criticism of the devolved social security system.Labour MSP Paul O’Kane said: “Scots were promised a fairer social security system, but this brutal rejection rate would make the Tories blush."“We already knew successful applicants were being left waiting months on end for lifeline support, and now we learn huge numbers of people are being knocked back altogether.

The SNP claim tackling poverty is their priority, but their shambolic mismanagement of these payments will cause misery for thousands of Scots.“They must ensure that everyone eligible for support can access it and deliver a social security system that truly works.”ADP replaced the Personal Independence Payment after control of some benefits was devolved to Holyrood.

It gives extra money to people with a disability or a long-term health condition and the “enhanced” daily living award is worth £101.75 a week.Figures released by the devolved Social Security Scotland show that 3699 applications were denied between May 1st and May 28th this year.

The total number of denials in this period, applications, as a percentage of applications, stood 40%.The benefits agency said the figures had been drawn from “management information” and urged “caution” over how the numbers were interpreted.According to the UK-wide DWP, the percentage of PIP claims ‘disallowed’ up to October 2022 stood at 47pc.