Adult Disability Payment Mobility Component Scotland

Two Activities, Two Very Different Questions

The ADP mobility component is scored across just two activities, but they capture different kinds of difficulty. Activity 11 covers the cognitive and psychological side of getting around — whether you can plan and follow a route. Activity 12 covers the physical side — how far you can walk. You need 8–11 points for the Standard rate (£30.30/week from April 2026) or 12+ for the Enhanced rate (£80.00/week).

Activity 11: Planning and Following Journeys

This is where mental health conditions, autism, learning disabilities, sensory impairments, and cognitive difficulties often score. The descriptors range from "can plan and follow the route of a journey unaided" (0 points) through needing an assistance dog or orientation aid, to "cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress" (10 points).

Key descriptors in between cover situations like:

• Needing prompting to undertake a journey (4 points)
• Being unable to follow the route of an unfamiliar journey without another person, an assistance dog, or an orientation aid (10 points)
• Being unable to follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog, or an orientation aid (12 points)

When describing your difficulties, focus on what actually stops you. If severe anxiety means you can't leave the house alone, explain how often that happens and what triggers it. If you can manage familiar routes but get lost or panicked on unfamiliar ones — even with a phone map — describe the specific problems: disorientation, distress, freezing, returning home without reaching your destination.

Activity 12: Moving Around

This measures walking ability on flat ground. The descriptors create distance bands:

• Can stand and move more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided (0 points)
• Can stand and move more than 50 metres but no more than 200 metres, either aided or unaided (4 points)
• Can stand and move more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres unaided (8 points)
• Can stand and move more than 20 metres but no more than 50 metres using an aid or appliance (10 points)
• Can stand and move more than 1 metre but no more than 20 metres, either aided or unaided (12 points)
• Cannot stand, or cannot move more than 1 metre, either aided or unaided (12 points)

"Aided" means using a walking stick, crutch, frame, or similar aid. These are realistic, not Olympic, distances — if you can walk 80 metres but only at a very slow pace, in severe pain, and need to stop and rest three times, the Regulation 7 reliability test applies. Walking that distance unsafely, with severe discomfort, or taking more than twice the normal time means you may score at a higher descriptor.

Also consider what happens after walking. If a 50-metre walk to the car means you need to rest for 30 minutes before you can do anything else, that's relevant to the "repeatedly" and "reasonable time" parts of the reliability test.

Scoring Both Activities Together

Points from Activity 11 and Activity 12 are added together for the mobility total. Someone who scores 4 on journey planning and 8 on walking distance reaches 12 points — the Enhanced rate threshold. This means people with combined physical and psychological barriers can qualify for Enhanced Mobility even when neither activity alone reaches 12.

Common Mistakes

Only describing physical walking. Activity 11 is often overlooked or answered briefly, but it can carry up to 12 points on its own. If you experience panic attacks, severe disorientation, or agoraphobia that prevents travel, Activity 11 is where those difficulties are scored.

Giving a single distance figure. Rather than writing "I can walk about 100 metres," describe the variability: how far on a good day versus a bad day, what the walking is like (slow, painful, needing to stop), and what you use to help (stick, wheelchair, someone's arm).

Forgetting indoor mobility. Activity 12 asks about moving around generally, not just outdoor walking. If you struggle to move around your own home — using furniture for support, unable to manage stairs — include that.

Our ADP claim guide includes a mobility self-assessment worksheet that breaks down both activities into specific prompts, helping you capture the full picture of how your condition affects getting around.

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