PIP v ADP success rates – the results, and a mystery, are in

Details: Published: 14 June 2023

Claimants can finally make a comparison between the success rates for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and its Scottish counterpart Adult Disability Payment (ADP), as figures for both benefits were released this week. It’s clear that ADP claimants currently have a better chance of success, but the gap is narrowing month by month and there is a mystery about the very high proportion of withdrawn Scottish claims.

PIP v ADP comparison

The headline figures for success rates for new claims for the two benefits are:

ADP 59% successful (since September 2022)

PIP 40% successful (over last 5 years)

So, on the face of it, claimants in Scotland are much more likely to get an award than claimants in the rest of the UK.

A deeper dive into the figures suggest that whilst Scottish award rates are still higher, the difference is not as great as it seems.

For one thing, success rates for ADP are falling steadily and much more quickly than for PIP. ADP award rates have fallen from 69% in September 2022 to 56% in April 2023, that’s almost 2% a month.

In addition, if you look at PIP award rates for just the last quarter, 43% were successful. The gap between 43% and 56% is still large but definitely narrower.

And then there’s the mystery of the proportion of Scottish claims that are withdrawn

9% of all ADP claims were withdrawn. Over the last year, only 1.9% of PIP claims were withdrawn. So, almost 5 times as many Scottish claimants voluntarily decide to stop their claim.

Is that because the initial information provided in Scotland is much clearer and allows a higher proportion of claimants to decide they are definitely not eligible and so withdraw? Or is there something else about the process in Scotland that makes it harder for people to continue?

It’s definitely an issue that needs investigating.

In terms of the speed with which claims are processed, Scotland is definitely struggling.

Over the most recent quarter, the average time to process a claim has risen from 77 days in January 2023 to 96 days in April 2023.

For PIP, clearance times are currently 91 days, meaning it now takes longer to get an ADP decision than a PIP one.

More ADP statistics

42,425 decisions had been made on new ADP claims by 30 April 2023.

59% were successful

32% were refused

9% were withdrawn

There has been a month on month reduction in the rate of applications authorised since the peak of 69% in September 2022 to 56% in April 2023.

66% were given an initial award comprising of both daily living and mobility components, whilst 26% were for daily living only and 8% were for mobility only.

The proportion of cases awarded both components has been falling since the national launch of ADP, with 73% of awards in September 2022 being for both components compared with 60% of awards in April 2023.

The proportion of cases receiving the enhanced rates of both the daily living and mobility components has fallen since September 2022. The daily living component is down from 74% of awards in September 2022 being at the enhanced rate to 50% in April 2023, and the mobility component has gone from 69% to 52% over the same period

Over the most recent quarter, the median average processing time for applications awarded decisions has increased from 77 days in January 2023 to 96 days in April 2023

Read the full ADP full statistics

More PIP statistics

Latest figures for normal rules claims cleared in the quarter ending April 2023 show: 43% of all new claim clearances (excluding withdrawn) and 51% of those who were assessed received an award

Over the last five years, 40% of new claims received an award of PIP.

210,000 registrations and 160,000 clearances for new claims (the highest level of registrations since PIP began)

Registrations have risen over the last year, with the latest quarter’s registrations up by 20% for new claims, 9% for DLA reassessments, 11% for changes of circumstance and 27% for planned award reviews in the quarter ending April 2023 compared to the quarter ending April 2022

Clearance volumes for planned award reviews in the quarter ending April 2023 were more than double the level (104% higher) than in quarter ending April 2022, whereas new claims clearances were 14% lower, change of circumstance clearances were 1% lower and DLA reassessment clearances were 23% lower over the same period.

PIP award review figures for the last five years:

Award Increased 18%

Award Maintained 52%

Award Decreased 9%

Award Disallowed 21%

Read the PIP full statistics

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Anon · 11 days ago
Ive just claimed for ADP and was declined i have mental health and not physically fit yet a relative of mine is and can go about do things for themselves with no assistance and yet was awarded it i find this unfair and feel discriminated and as it is not means tested anybody can put anything down on the form and get paid i have appealed and if refused again thats it .
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Wendy · 8 months ago
My enhanced pip rate was cut. No one informed me pip had changed to Adp and zi now get half of what I got from PIP. No explanation. Disgrace
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BabyDaisy · 9 months ago
Having had both, I can say I MUCH prefer ADP. The renewal process was so much easier. Also have a child with CDP and I literally could just sign a form for "no changes" rather than go through the whole process again and her award continued uninterrupted.
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Essjay83 · 1 years ago
If i called ADP 6 weeks ago and asked for gp information and i uploaded that week. Then call back today to be told the case manger has everything they require and is at final stage. What does this mean? And roughly how much longer am i expected to wait? This is a C of C done at review on 15 march .
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Gee_H · 1 years ago
PIP review took over 2 years to come back, they did keep paying and it did eventually come back still high level both but by heck, that 2 years were worrysome.
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Andy · 1 years ago
Switched from PIP to ADP in DEC 2022 was informed a review would take place APR 2023. Submitted documents and completed form, delighted to say they got back to me this week and award was continued at same rate with no further review for 3 years. Only downside was as I suffer from anxiety, it was a bit of a worrying wait for the decision letter. But overall I'm satisfied with my experience of ADP and Social Security Scotland so far.
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Lindsey · 1 years ago
I have been waiting for a decision from ADP since 10 October 2022, and still waiting as of 22 June 2023, despite being told it was with a decision maker on 2 March 2023.
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Anon · 1 years ago
ADP was a brand new benefit in Scotland with brand new staff working on it so it’ll take a while for the figures to settle and it seems a bit unfair to compare them at this stage. At the moment, the Case Managers are working through decisions at a tremendous rate so if you look at the stats through June & July you’ll see a big change.
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  Ak · 1 years ago
  
  @Karen They contacted my doctor
  
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  Karen · 1 years ago
  
  @Anon Actually they don’t consult your professional contacts as I have just found out . I lost out by one point . I was disappointed to learn that they did NOT consult my go or my hospital consultant.
  
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  Anon · 1 years ago
  
  @Lindsey If they need to seek advice from the practitioners, they usually specialise in that particular condition ie: mental health would be a mental health practitioner, counsellor, support worker etc. The practioners (as well as case managers) come from all walks of life and there are social workers, psychiatric nurses etc in there. If your condition has changed and that has led to a decrease in your ability for self-care/daily living tasks or mobility, send in a change of circs. If your CM has confirmed they have everything they need (not the CA’s who answer the phone as they wouldn’t know of what you’ve sent it relevant or not) then there no reason for your claim to be delayed beyond a few weeks - ordinary, I can be processed within a week if everything is there but their workload right now makes that impossible, some have a caseload of almost 50 clients!
  
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  Lindsey · 1 years ago
  
  @Anon I've spoken to my case manager, who said they have everything they need, as I provided all hospital letters etc myself. My gripe is with the healthcare professionals they seek advice from. Often not experienced with the issues the applicant has, and a checklist looking for the slightest excuse to refuse a claim when it's a legitimate claim about how daily life is for the applicant. Also, many applicants, myself included, have a deterioration in their conditions but don't seek further doctor appointments, as there's nothing they can do. It's very frustrating.
  
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  Anon · 1 years ago
  
  @Lindsey Have you spoken to your case manager to see what else they need? Believe me, if they have everything they need to make a decision they would do as the last thing the. CM’s want are cases that could be decided sitting in their workload. They want to make the [right] decisions for their clients as quickly as they can. Give them a phone as you might be surprised and only need to provide 1 more things or something like that.. I can guarantee they’ll be waiting on info from your GP or consultant though; that’s where the delays are.
  
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Tiger lily · 1 years ago
Awarded SDP. Forced to close my claim as moved back to England. Only just received PIP application after more than 3 months. That must be part of the stats. It's outrageous as PIP SDP have the same descriptors.
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kaykin · 1 years ago
Less than a year since ADP went fully live in Scotland and it is in a mess.....several months wait for your claim to be looked at, customers being asked to get supporting evidence themselves rather than SSS getting it for them, application form is 100 pages long, not well laid out at all. Never had an issue getting PIP for my cancer patients, that is not the case with ADP! I never thought I would hear myself say, bring back PIP applications and assessments!
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  Wrong · 1 years ago
  
  @kaykin Its not 100 pages long and i sent sss to my dr and thats where they got all the info they needed
  
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  Anon · 1 years ago
  
  @Anon "Even the clients can ask for a summary of their medical history and be given it there and then."
  
  Odd, i just asked for mine last week and was told it ciuld take 3 to 4 months.
  
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  Anon · 1 years ago
  
  @Lindsey Sorry but you’re incorrect on a few things with this post. The original ‘aim’ was 12 weeks for this but even the ID and verification checks are taking that long and that before a case manager even sees them. The CM’s don’t need to be medical professionals and to be honest, it’s probably better that they’re not as they take a holistic view of the application (some are Med prof by the way) and then if they’re not sure they have the specialists on each field on hand to ask any questions of. The practitioner gives the additional info on the condition and potential effects and then CM uses that with the application and supporting info to make a decision. Sometimes, they need to go to more than than one practioner as people can have a variety of conditions which can affect they’re physical and mental health and that’s where the CM’s bring it all together. Contrary to your belief, there is no ‘check list’ and the system is NOT designed to make people fail. Quite the contrary actually. They’ve tried to make the whole process easier so that the people who’d normally slip through the net or would be put off actually go ahead and put a claim in. That’s also why they removed the face-to-face assessments as clients told them they found it degrading, made them even more anxious etc. The SG listened and removed them. The downside of being so easy now is that people are claiming who don’t have genuine difficulties and that’s where the CM’s have to be careful to ensure the money goes to those who genuinely need it. It’s not an easy job and definitely one that deserves more respect. It can be really harrowing at times reading the claims and at the end of the day, they’re all human and doing the job to help people so some claims can impact them mentally and emotionally too.. They’re def not paid enough for what they do!
  
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  Anon · 1 years ago
  
  @Lindsey It might 8 months to you but according to your earlier post, the CM has only had it since March. Like I said though, give them a phone as there might be a piece of information missing or maybe your documents haven’t uploaded 🤷‍♀️ could be something that’s easily resolved and they can get your decision made..
  
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  Lindsey · 1 years ago
  
  @Anon 8 months is a ridiculous amount of time to still be waiting when all information was submitted, Hospital letters, medical reports, medication prescription etc. Apparently the processing time quotes 8 to 10 weeks. Absolute lies! Case managers aren't even trained medical professionals, they are civil servants going off a checklist designed to make applicants fail. The 'medical professionals' they do consult with are nurses, I'm one myself, and I know they have limited knowledge of specific conditions such as depression, PTSD, ADHD etc, therefore not in the position to be advising on those conditions.
  
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Nancy · 1 years ago
A reason as to why there is a larger number of ADP failure to complete could be due to the process ie that SS Scotland are strongly advising people to complete part 2 via their own face to face or phone service (or online). This results in reduction of people seeking assistance with this from independent agencies eg CAB.
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MOwadd · 1 years ago
The ADP is now struggling with their time scales as they are now reassessing PIP to ADP which will have an impact on timescales for decisions. In general the process I found was much simpler than PIP for which I was refused for. ADP contact GP, Consultants and Physios for additional information to confirm diagnosis. I was waiting on assessment but not necessary. The problem is people over exaggerate in order to be successful sometimes but this is often inconsistent with their conditions.

The staff when i contact them were always helpful and prompt either on phone or web chat.
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Loopilou · 1 years ago
I've heard of a few people failing to complete the application for ADP in time and therefore 'withdrawing' their application. I don't know about PIP, but the ADP application is open from the minute contact details are entered and then you get a fair few weeks to complete. Some people simply run out of time.
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Porridge · 1 years ago
So this should bring some comfort inasmuch that 70 per cent of PIP reviews are either maintained or increased. I winder if that means planned reviews or do the figures above encompass reviews where a claimant has asked their claim to be reviewed (because of a change in circumstances).
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  Anon · 1 years ago
  
  @Lindsey Who are given manuals? ADP certainly don’t have anything like that and your comment that they are designed to fail as many applicants as possible is totally untrue. 100% Every single case is decided on its own merits. Legally, they have to follow certain guidance when making decisions but if people meet the criteria, they get the award, simple as that. I think you might be confusing them with the DWP
  
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  Lindsey · 1 years ago
  
  @Del I have no doubt that's true. They are given a manual to make decisions by, and are designed to fail as many applicants as possible.
  
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  Anon · 1 years ago
  
  @Del ADP don’t have assessors. They have case managers who make the decisions and health care practitioners on hand for them to ask any questions they need to make that decision. The practitioners only ‘advise’ the CM’s as the final decision is the CM’s to make. ADP very rarely do assessments in person and only occasionally do consultations over the phone so I’m not sure who your friend worked for but it wasn’t ADP (sounds more like DWP to be honest)
  
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  Twinks · 1 years ago
  
  @Del Oh wow! I wonder how many more were told to do this?
  
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  Del · 1 years ago
  
  @Porridge A relative of mine worked as an assessor for the ADP and left because they were constantly told to rewrite the report finding against any award
  
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