Disability benefits uptake rise due to reduced ‘stigma’, minister tells MSPs

An increase in uptake of disability benefits for mental health conditions is due to “stigma” around doing so being reduced, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has said.

Appearing before the Social Justice and Social Security Committee at Holyrood on Thursday as part of its pre-budget scrutiny, the minister was specifically asked about the increase in claimants of the adult disability payment (ADP) who have mental health or behavioural conditions.

Ms Somerville said there has been an increase in uptake among people who were already eligible for the payment but did not previously apply for it due to “the stigma and the judgment”.

She said: “One of the important aspects of this is that many people that are applying due to a mental health condition or behavioural conditions are already in employment.

“One of reasons we have seen people coming forward for ADP, for example because of mental health or neurodiversity and so on, is because we are increasing support for those people to be able to come forward for something they’ve always been entitled but never felt that they could apply for because of the stigma and the judgment.”

There were 142,480 people claiming ADP for mental and behavioural disorders at the end of October 2024, which is the most common reason for claiming the benefit.

Ms Somerville said it is important the benefits system “encourages people to apply”, but supporting people to get back into employment is also a priority.

She said: “The fact we have a system that encourages people to apply for benefits they are entitled to is really important and about taking the stigma away. The work that is being done overall, not just in Government but in society, where we have a much more open discussion around mental health is a particularly important part.

“I would also point out for those who are not in employment that’s exactly why we need to have very supportive employability schemes to allow those people to be supported back into the labour market.”

She also said the Scottish Government is undertaking work to identify the different drivers of demand for devolved disability benefits in Scotland and it intends to publish this analysis in the autumn.