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Appointees
Where an appointee has already been accepted by Department for Work and Pensions to receive Disability Living Allowance on behalf of the transferring individual who is regarded as incapable, the appointee is to be treated on or after the transfer date as though they had been appointed to act (under section 85B(7) of the 2018 Act) on behalf of the individual claiming Adult Disability Payment (ADP Transitional and Miscellaneous Amendment Regs, reg 11(1)).
When someone makes a new and successful application for Adult Disability Payment, the award cannot be paid to a person as an appointee until Social Security Scotland checks that the client could be regarded as an adult with incapacity and that the potential appointee is suitable, taking into account the views of the client and others with an interest in their welfare and financial affairs.
However, where an individual’s initial Adult Disability Payment determination resulted from the case transfer process, the Department for Work and Pensions appointee can continue to act for the individual as though they were a Social Security Scotland appointee until these further checks are carried out.
These checks need to be completed as soon as reasonably practicable (ADP Transitional and Miscellaneous Amendment Regs, reg 11(2)(a)). However, until then the appointee can continue to act on the individual’s behalf, including receiving their payments of Adult Disability Payment (ADP Transitional and Miscellaneous Amendment Regs, reg 11(1)).
When these checks have been completed, Social Security Scotland must decide if the appointment should continue or be terminated. If the appointment is terminated, a decision should be made as to whether it would be appropriate for someone else to act on the individual’s behalf and the usual appointee process should be followed (ADP Transitional and Miscellaneous Amendment Regs, reg 11(2)(b) and (c)).
Example: Appointees for transfer cases
Milly is cared for by her son Robbie. Robbie was appointed by the Department for Work and Pensions to manage Milly’s Disability Living Allowance.
Milly’s case is selected for transfer. Robbie received a phone call from Social Security Scotland asking him to discuss the appointment. Social Security Scotland decide they would like to conduct visits to speak with both Milly and Robbie. The Local Delivery visits then took place six weeks after Milly’s case is transferred.
Robbie can continue to act and receive Adult Disability Payment payments on Milly’s behalf until Social Security Scotland completes their visit and decides if the appointment is appropriate.