When an individual in receipt of DLA moves to Scotland

Individuals in receipt of DLA must notify DWP when they move to Scotland from England and Wales, or the Department for Communities (DfC) if the individual is moving from Northern Ireland to Scotland. DWP or DfC will send this information to Social Security Scotland when they are notified by the individual. This prompts Social Security Scotland to make a determination without application for Scottish Adult DLA (Scottish Adult DLA regs, Reg 47).

DWP or DfC send data to Social Security Scotland which case managers should use when making a determination without application.

For example, if an individual is in receipt of the middle rate of the care component of DLA at the time of the move, the case manager should accept that the individual satisfies the eligibility criteria of the middle rate of the care component of Scottish Adult DLA. However, they must then consider if:

• the individual is staying in alternative accommodation in Scotland; and
• any of the differences between the DLA eligibility criteria and Scottish Adult DLA eligibility criteria are relevant to the individual.

These differences are discussed below.