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Basic facts
- Adult disability payment (ADP) is for people who need help with daily living or who have mobility difficulties.
- Part-time and full-time students can claim.
- If you are a full-time student, getting ADP helps you to be eligible for universal credit (although you must also meet a medical test). In some cases, it also allows you to be eligible for housing benefit.
1. What is adult disability payment
Adult disability payment (ADP) is a benefit for people with a disability. It replaces personal independence payment for people of working age in Scotland.
Children who have a disability can claim child disability payment in Scotland.
ADP is not means tested, so it is not reduced because of your student support or other income. It comprises two components: for daily living and mobility. Each component has two rates: a standard rate and an enhanced rate.
2. Who is eligible
You qualify for adult disability payment (ADP) if you meet all the following conditions.1
- You are aged 16 or over and, usually, under pension age.
- You satisfy certain rules on residence and presence in the UK and are not a ’person subject to immigration control’. See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for details.
- You satisfy the disability conditions for the daily living component and/or the mobility component.
- You have satisfied the disability conditions for the last 13 weeks (unless you are terminally ill) and are likely to continue to do so for the next 39 weeks.
- You are not entitled to child disability payment, personal independence payment, disability living allowance, pension age disability payment, Scottish adult disability living allowance, attendance allowance or armed forces independence payment.
Your ability to undertake various activities is assessed, taking into account whether you can carry out the activity safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and within a reasonable time. Depending on the type and level of help you need, you score points in different activities. If you score eight points, you get the standard rate of a component; if you score 12 points, you get the enhanced rate. For example, if you cannot dress or undress yourself, you score eight points.
See CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook for more information about the activities and the points awarded.
References
- 1
s31 and Sch 5 SS(S)A 2018; regs 3 and 4 DAWAP(S) Regs
Daily living component
To get the standard rate of the daily living component, your ability to undertake certain specified day-to-day activities must be limited by your health or disability. To get the enhanced rate, your ability to undertake the activities must be severely limited.
You are assessed on your ability to carry out the following activities:
- preparing food. If you cannot prepare and cook a simple meal yourself, you can score points;
- taking nutrition;
- managing therapy or monitoring your health condition;
- washing and bathing;
- managing toilet needs or incontinence;
- dressing and undressing;
- communicating verbally. If you need to use an aid to help you speak or hear, you can score two points; if you need a British Sign Language interpreter to help you understand or express information, you can score four to eight points, depending on the type of help you need;
- reading and understanding signs, symbols and words. If you need help to read, or need to use an appliance or aid (other than glasses or contact lenses), you can score points;
- engaging socially with other people in-person. You can score points even if you are able to engage with people you know (such as family and friends), or people you interact with for a specific purpose, such as a health professional or a lecturer;
- making budgeting decisions. You can score points if your disability means you need help with budgeting.
Mobility component
You get the standard rate of the mobility component if your ability to undertake certain mobility activities is limited by your health or disability. If your ability to undertake the activities is severely limited, you get the enhanced rate.
You are assessed on your ability to plan and follow journeys and to move around. You can score points if you need help to follow an unfamiliar or familiar route, including if you can only do so with the help of a guide dog or orientation aid.
Students
If you are a student (part-time or full-time), you can get ADP if you meet the qualifying conditions. Starting to study should not affect your award, provided you still have daily living and/or mobility needs.
4. Claiming adult disability payment
Claim adult disability payment (ADP) online at mygov.scot/adult-disability-payment/how-to-apply or phone 0800 182 2222 to ask for a paper claim form to be sent to you. Claims cannot generally be backdated, so claim as soon as you think you qualify.
The claim is in two parts. If you phone, some basic information is taken from you to complete part one. You are then sent a form on which to give more information about your condition and how it affects you. You must normally return this form within eight weeks. If you claim online you have two weeks to complete part one and a further eight weeks to complete part two. You can ask for the eight weeks to be extended.
A determination on your claim should be made within eight to 10 weeks.
ADP is usually paid directly into your bank account, and it is paid every four weeks in arrears.
2. Who pays council tax
If you are a student, there are two main ways in which you are exempt from paying council tax.
- The accommodation you live in may be exempt (see here).
- You may not be liable to pay any council tax (see here).
If neither of these applies, you may be able to reduce your council tax bill.
- You may be able to get a discount (see here).
- You may be able to get council tax reduction or second adult rebate (see here and here).
Who counts as a student
If you are aged under 20, whether you count as a student for council tax purposes depends on whether you are undertaking a full-time course of further or higher education. For older students, one rule applies whatever level of course you undertake. If you are an articulating student of any age, you may count as a student between courses (see below). The course must be at a ‘specified institution’, which can include courses in European Economic Area member states.1
Under 20 in further education
You are regarded as a student for council tax purposes if you are aged under 20 and on a further education (FE) course of more than 12 hours a week, that lasts more than three months.2
An FE course is one below the level of a degree, Higher National Certificate (HNC), Higher National Diploma (HND) or Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) level 4. It includes National Qualifications to Advanced Higher level, A levels and National Certificates. It does not include:
- further training of teachers or youth or community workers;3
- evening classes;4
- correspondence courses;5
- courses attended if you are a trainee on a youth training course or an apprentice.6
The hours that count are those required by the course rather than those you actually do, if they are different.
To work out your hours, average out over term times the hours required under the course for tuition, supervised study, exams, and supervised exercise, experiment, project and practical work.7 You can add together hours spent on more than one course if these are all at the same college.8
You are regarded as a student for each day from the day you start the course until the day you complete it, abandon it or are dismissed from it.9 So you count as a student during term times, during short vacations at Christmas and Easter and during the summer if your course continues after the summer. If your course ends in the summer and you begin a different one in the autumn, you do not count as a student in the summer between courses.10 However, you may be able to get a discount (see here).
Example
Drew is 18 and taking three Highers at college. Including his classes, exams and supervised study, his course hours are 18 a week. He is a student for council tax purposes.
Under 20 in higher education
The rules are the same as those for people aged 20 or over (see below).
20 or over in further or higher education
If you are aged 20 or over, you are regarded as a student for council tax purposes if the course requires you to undertake periods of study, tuition or work experience of at least 24 weeks each academic year, for an average of at least 21 hours a week.11 This includes distance learning.
To count as a student, you must be enrolled on a course with an educational institution. You are a student from the day you begin the course until the day you complete it, abandon it or are no longer permitted by the educational institution to attend.12 So if you take time out and are not enrolled on the course during this period, you do not count as a student for council tax purposes and may become liable for council tax. If this is the case, check whether you can get council tax reduction (see here). On the other hand, if you take time out but are still enrolled on the course, you continue to count as a student, provided you have not abandoned it completely and the institution has not said you can no longer attend the course. Because the law says you are not a student if you are ‘no longer permitted by the institution to attend’, this suggests that your dismissal from the course must be final. So you could argue that if you are temporarily suspended from the course but still registered, you still count as a student.
Your college or university determines the number of hours. You may need evidence from it to prove to the local authority that you count as a student. Colleges and universities are required to provide you with a certificate if you ask for one while you are a student or up to a year after you leave the course.13 After that, they may still give you a certificate, but they are not legally required to do so. The certificate must contain:14
- the name and address of the institution; and
- your full name; and
- your term-time address and home address (if known by the institution); and
- a statement that you are (or were) a student – ie, that you are enrolled on a course requiring attendance of at least 24 weeks a year and study of at least 21 hours a week; and
- the date you became a student and the date your course ends.
Articulating or direct entry students
You count as a student if you have finished an HNC or HND course and have an offer of a place directly into the second or third year of a degree course.15 To qualify, if you have completed a full-time HNC course in the last six months, you must have an offer of a place in the second year of a full-time degree course starting within this period. The same applies if you have completed a full-time HND course in the last six months, except that the offer must be of a place in the third year of a full-time degree course. See above for the definition of ‘full-time course’.
If you meet these rules but do not start the degree course, you do not count as a student for the period between the courses.
References
- 1
Sch 1 para 2(j) and Sch 2 CT(D)(S)CAO
- 2
Art 6(1)(b) and Sch 1 para 1(a) CT(D)(S)CAO
- 3
Sch 1 para 2 CT(D)(S)CAO
- 4
Sch 1 para 1(d) CT(D)(S)CAO
- 5
Sch 1 para 1(c) CT(D)(S)CAO
- 6
Art 6(3)(c) CT(D)(S)CAO
- 7
Art 2, definitions of ‘relevant number of hours’ and ‘relevant activities’, CT(D)(S)CAO
- 8
Art 6(3)(a) CT(D)(S)CAO
- 9
Art 2, definition of ‘the relevant period’, CT(D)(S)CAO
- 10
Art 6(3)(b) CT(D)(S)CAO
- 11
Art 6(4)(c) CT(D)(S)CAO
- 12
Arts 2, definition of ‘the relevant period’, and 6(4)(e) CT(D)(S)CAO
- 13
Sch 1 para 5 LGFA 1992
- 14
Art 9 CT(D)(S)CAO
- 15
Art 6(1)(d) and (e) CT(D)(S)CAO
Exempt dwellings
A dwelling is exempt from council tax if all the people who occupy it are in any of the following categories:1
- a student;
- a student’s partner from overseas if they entered the UK on a visa that prohibits them from working or claiming benefits. If the partner has the right to work but not to claim benefits, arguably they should come under this exemption;2or
- a care leaver aged 18–25; or
- someone under age 18; or
- someone under age 20 who left FE at school or college after 30 April – this only applies between 1 May and 31 October of the year they left school or college; or
- someone who is ‘severely mentally impaired’.3
Halls of residence are also exempt dwellings. This applies if the hall of residence is mainly for students and is owned and managed by an educational institution or if there is an agreement that the educational institution can nominate the majority of those who can stay in the accommodation.4
An unoccupied dwelling is exempt for up to four months if it is the main residence of a student (and not of anyone else who is not a student) and it was last occupied by one or more students. This allows an exemption to continue – eg, through the summer vacation. If you are liable for council tax (and anyone who is jointly liable with you is also a student) and the dwelling is no one’s main residence, the dwelling is exempt without a time limit.
If the dwelling is exempt, there is no council tax or council water charge to pay.5
There are a number of other exemptions that are not specifically aimed at students. For details, see CPAG’s Council Tax Handbook.
Who is liable for council tax
Very few students are liable to pay council tax. Normally, either the dwelling is exempt because everyone who lives there is a student or the non-students in the household are solely liable for the council tax.
If the dwelling is not exempt from council tax, at least one person is liable for the bill. There is a hierarchy to determine liability – the first person in the hierarchy is the one who is liable to pay. If there are two or more people at the same level, they are usually jointly liable, but there is an exception for students.
Council tax liability hierarchy
Resident owner
Resident tenant
Resident statutory, statutory assured or secure tenant
Resident sub-tenant
Other resident
Non-resident owner unless there is a non-resident tenant or a non-resident sub-tenant, either of whom have a lease of six months or more
If students share accommodation with non-students who are at the same level in the hierarchy, the non-students are liable but the students are not.1
Examples
Three students, Rahul, Will and Jameel, share a flat as joint tenants. While they are all students, the flat is exempt and there is no council tax to pay. Will drops out of his course. The flat is no longer exempt. Will is solely liable for the whole council tax bill (although there is a discount). Rahul and Jameel are not liable for any council tax. Will should apply for a council tax reduction if his income is low.
Christine is studying full time and owns the flat she lives in. She rents a room to a friend who is not a student. Christine is liable for the council tax. She gets a 25 per cent discount on the bill. Her friend is not liable for any council tax.
Raj is studying full time and owns the flat he lives in. He rents a room to a friend who is also a student. Raj is liable for the council tax but, as both of them are students, the flat is exempt and the bill is therefore nil.
Couples
Normally, couples who live together are jointly liable for the council tax. Students, however, are exempt from this rule. If you are a student and have a non-student partner who is liable for council tax, you are not jointly liable with them.2
Discounts
The full council tax bill assumes that there are two adults living in the dwelling. You get a discount of 25 per cent if there is only one person living there. Some people are disregarded when counting how many live in the dwelling. They are described as ‘invisible’ or as having a ‘status discount’. If you and any other adults you live with have a status discount, and there is no one counted as living in the property, you get a discount of 50 per cent. If someone has a status discount and there is only one adult counted as living in the property, you get a discount of 25 per cent. The discount is on the water charge, as well as the council tax charge.1
The following people are disregarded in this way:2
- anyone under 18 years old;
- anyone aged 18 or 19 for whom child benefit is payable;
- students;
- a student’s partner from overseas if they entered the UK on a visa that prohibits them from working or claiming benefits. If the partner has the right to work but not to claim benefits, arguably they should come under this exemption;
- someone under age 20 who was on a non-advanced course of education and who left school or college after 1 May – the status discount lasts from 1 May until 31 October;
- student nurses – ie, those studying for registration;
- apprentices training for an SVQ and on low pay;
- a care leaver aged between 18 and 25, who was looked after on or after their 16th birthday and is no longer looked after;
- others – eg, carers, hospital inpatients and trainees. See CPAG’s Council Tax Handbook for details.
Disability reduction
The council tax bill is reduced to the valuation band below your own band if you, or anyone else (adult or child) who is resident in the dwelling, are substantially and permanently disabled and you use a wheelchair indoors or need an extra room.1 For those in Band A properties, a proportional reduction is made.
References
- 1
The Council Tax (Reductions for Disabilities) (Scotland) Regulations 1992 No.1335
3. Council tax reduction
Council tax reduction is administered by local authorities and helps you pay the council tax. To get council tax reduction, you must meet all the following conditions.1
- You are liable for council tax. Most students are not liable for council tax and have no need to apply for a reduction.
- You do not count as a student, or you count as a student but are still eligible for council tax reduction (see below).
- You are ‘habitually resident’ in the UK, Ireland, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, have a ‘right to reside’ in the UK, and are not a ‘person subject to immigration control’. These terms are explained in CPAG’s Welfare Benefits Handbook.
- You have no more than £16,000 capital. There is no capital limit if you are getting pension credit guarantee credit (see here).
- Your income is low enough. Council tax reduction is means tested, so the amount you get depends on how much income you have.
References
- 1
Regs 13, 16, 19 and 42 CTR(S) Regs
Students eligible for council tax reduction
Part-time students are eligible for council tax reduction. If you are a full-time student, you are not eligible unless:1
- you are a qualifying young person for child benefit purposes (see here); or
- you are aged under 22 on a course of further education (FE), that you started when you were under 21; or
- you are a full-time student in higher education, or aged 19 or over in FE, and:
- you get universal credit; or
- you are a lone parent; or
- you have a child and your partner is also a full-time student; or
- you are a disabled student (same as for housing benefit (HB) – see here); or
- you have reached pension age.
The way ‘full-time student’ is defined is the same as for HB (see here).2 Note: it is not the same as the definition for council tax described in this chapter.
If you are not eligible under the rules above, but you have a non-student partner, your partner can apply instead.
You can get an application form for council tax reduction from the local authority.
4. Second adult rebate
All students who are liable for council tax can claim second adult rebate. The law refers to this as ‘alternative maximum council tax reduction’. It is intended for people whose bill is higher because they live with others who cannot get a status discount but who cannot make a full contribution towards a share of the bill. You can only get a second adult rebate if you live with others who are not students. If all of you are students, you cannot get this rebate.
Whether or not you get a rebate depends on the income of the people who share with you. Your own income or capital is ignored.
You can get a second adult rebate if:1
- you are liable for council tax; and
- you have a ‘second adult’ living with you; and
- the second adult is on universal credit (UC) or pension credit (PC), or has a low income; and
- you do not get rent from a tenant or sub-tenant (arguably, rent from students or others who have a status discount should not prevent you from getting second adult rebate);2 and
- if you are in a couple, one or both of you are students or have a status discount for some other reason; and
- if you are jointly liable for the council tax, all of those jointly liable are (or all but one are) students or have a status discount for some other reason.
Second adult
A ’second adult’ is someone aged 18 or over who is a non-dependant – ie, someone who lives with you on a non-commercial basis, is not a student, and does not have a status discount for any other reason.
If you are eligible for a second adult rebate and for council tax reduction, the local authority decides which is worth the most to you. You cannot get both at the same time. If you get a second adult rebate, you get a reduction of 100 per cent if the second adult(s) gets UC and has no earned income, or gets PC, and everyone else is a full-time student,3 or 25 per cent, 15 per cent or 7.5 per cent depending on the income of the second adult(s).4
Examples
Terry lives with his mother, Laurie, aged 70. Terry is a full-time student. Laurie is claiming PC. Terry owns the house. Terry can claim a second adult rebate of 100 per cent. Laurie is the second adult.
Dean is a student and he owns the flat he shares with his brother, Steve. Steve is aged 19 and on UC with no earned income. Dean can claim a second adult rebate of 100 per cent. Steve is the second adult.
References
Basic facts
- Students may be able to receive student support or get social security benefits during periods of absence from their course.
- Support is usually only available if you have taken time out because you are ill, pregnant or you have to care for someone.
- Support may also be available once you have recovered from your illness or your caring responsibilities have ceased and you are waiting to return to your course.
1. Ill health
Full-time students
Which benefits you are eligible for depends on how long you have been ill, your age, whether you have paid any national insurance (NI) contributions, and whether you need personal care or have mobility difficulties. Once you have recovered, you may be able to get universal credit (UC) until you can return to your course.
You usually still count as a full-time student when taking time out of your course, unless you have completely abandoned or been dismissed from it (but see here for when this may not apply).1
From the start of your ill health
If you have paid sufficient NI contributions in recent years, you are eligible for new-style employment and support allowance (ESA) after seven ‘waiting days’ (see Chapter 4).
From three months
You can claim adult disability payment (ADP) if you need help getting around or with daily living activities because of a disability. You are eligible for this after 13 weeks if your disability is likely to last at least another 39 weeks.
You can claim UC if you get ADP or child disability payment (CDP) and had limited capability for work (LCW) or limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA) before you started receiving education (see here). This means a determination that you have LCW/LCWRA for UC or new-style ESA or that you are treated as having LCW/LCWRA for UC. You can claim new-style ESA in order to establish that you have LCW/LCWRA (although you do not have to get any ESA to qualify in this way). Once you are found to have LCW/LCWRA for ESA (and you also get ADP or CDP), you are then eligible for UC as long as you had or were treated as having LCW/LCWRA before you started receiving education. These rules mean that if you first become ill while on your course (while receiving education), then you cannot get UC on this basis while on that course.
From 28 weeks
Once you have had LCW for 28 weeks, you can claim HB to help with your rent (if you can make a new claim for this - see here).
The 28-week period runs from the day your LCW begins, not from the day you leave your course. See here for how LCW is assessed. You do not need to have been working to count as having LCW. Note: you can have LCW but still be able to study, so HB can continue when you return to college or university.
Example
Sean is ill and takes time out of his course. He is not eligible for ADP, and he has not worked enough to qualify for new-style ESA. He gets no benefits until he has been ill for 28 weeks, when he can claim HB (he can make a new claim for HB because he lives in temporary accommodation, and he is eligible because he is an ill/disabled student). He makes a claim for ESA, supported by a backdated medical certificate, in order to establish his LCW, and he also fills in a claim form for HB.
Once you have recovered
Once you have recovered, you may need to wait some time to be readmitted to your course. During this time you can claim UC (or HB if you can make a new claim – see here).2
You can claim for up to one year from the day you recover until the day the college or university agrees you can return to your course. You are not eligible if you get a grant or loan during this time. Once the student support stops, you can claim benefit.
If you meet the qualifying conditions for new-style jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), and are not eligible for a student loan or grant, you can claim this while waiting to return to your course (see here).
Student support
Although payment of your student loan can be suspended after 60 days’ absence because of ill health, Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) has the discretion to continue to pay you until the end of the academic year.
Your college or university should tell SAAS the reason you have suspended your studies.
If you need to repeat a year for health reasons, discretionary repeat-year funding may be available. Alternatively, you may get funding for one extra year for whatever reason, although this depends on your previous study.
If you select the repeat-year funding box on your application, SAAS contacts you to tell you if it needs additional information.
If you take time out from your course because of ill health and are not paid a student loan during this time, the unpaid student loan is arguably not counted as notional income for UC and HB, because payment of it is discretionary.
Part-time students
If you are a part-time student (and do not count as receiving education for UC – see here), you can claim UC as soon as you are ill or disabled, whether or not you get ADP or CDP. You should submit a fit note when you claim.
From the start of your ill health
If you are already getting UC, you can submit a fit note if you become ill or disabled.
You can claim new-style ESA if you have paid sufficient NI contributions.
From three months
You can claim ADP if you need help getting around or with daily living activities because of a disability. You are eligible for this after 13 weeks if your disability is likely to last at least another 39 weeks.
Once you have recovered
You can claim UC (or, sometimes, new-style JSA - see here).