The case transfer process from Disability Living Allowance to Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance

Individuals cannot ask for their benefits to be transferred. Disability Living Allowance cases are selected for transfer when the client has a Scottish postcode as part of their Disability Living Allowance record and:

• Their award is selected for transfer by the Department for Work and Pensions, based on a set of prioritisation criteria, known as “managed transfer”.
• They report a relevant change of circumstances to Department for Work and Pensions after Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance national launch, known as “natural transfer”; or
• They are due a renewal of their Disability Living Allowance award.

Individuals do not need to make a new application for Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance for the transfer to take place. Instead, the Department for Work and Pensions passes the information used to make the Disability Living Allowance award to Social Security Scotland. This information forms the basis for the individual’s Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance determination.

Once they receive the transfer information from the Department for Work and Pensions, Social Security Scotland will send a notification to the individual explaining all of the following (Scottish Adult DLA Regs, Schedule 1, Part 2, Para 6(2)):

• that their case has been selected for transfer from DLA to Scottish Adult DLA
• a determination to begin entitlement of Scottish Adult DLA and end DLA will be made within the period of specified time within the notification
• a determination will be made without the individual submitting an application

The individual will then be notified when the determination is made. This will include:

• information about their award and the start date of Scottish Adult DLA
• the individual’s DLA award will cease immediately before the award of Scottish Adult DLA begins, so there is no break in entitlement
• what their rights are to request a re-determination or appeal (Section 40 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018)