Shock new figures have revealed that 60,409 people receive the SNP’s replacement disability payment, Adult Disability Payment (ADP), because they have anxiety.
The findings have been uncovered by the Scottish Conservatives through a Freedom of Information Request and come ahead of the party publishing their policy paper on social security later this week.
It was also revealed that a further 10,507 people receive ADP due to having ADHD, 1,422 got the benefit due to having OCD and 277 being paid because they have “social phobias”.
In total, nearly 200,000 people are receiving ADP for mental health reasons at an estimated cost of £1.3 billion to the taxpayer.
Shadow social security secretary Alexander Stewart says hard-pressed Scots will be “dismayed” to be paying the highest taxes in the UK to fund the SNP’s “ballooning” benefits bill.
He says that his party is the only one at Holyrood who are committed to ensuring Scotland’s benefits bill is “fair and delivers value for taxpayers” and to putting an end to the SNP’s “soft-touch” regime which has seen a huge rise in the cost of the benefits system.
Scottish Conservative shadow social security secretary Alexander Stewart MSP said: “With the SNP’s benefits bill ballooning, hard-working Scots will be dismayed to see such the astonishing number of payments made for conditions like anxiety, ADHD and OCD.
“While there will obviously be individuals who have valid reasons for claiming adult disability payment, the huge growth in these payments suggests many are benefitting from the SNP’s soft-touch benefits regime which fails to tackle unnecessary or fraudulent claims.
“Scots should not be paying the highest taxes in the United Kingdom simply to fund the SNP benefits bill, which is why our party will be bringing forward our plans this week outlining how we would ensure the social security system is fair and delivers value for taxpayers.
“Unlike the other parties at Holyrood, including Reform, we believe in getting a grip of a rising benefits bill and ending the SNP’s sicknote culture which is deeply damaging for Scotland’s economy.
“John Swinney might want to bury his head in the sand on this issue, but we will continue to stand up for Scots who don’t want to continue funding a huge increase in successful benefit claims.”
Notes
Nearly 200,000 people claim Adult Disability Payment for mental health reasons in Scotland at a cost of £1.3 billion to the taxpayer. According to the latest Social Security Scotland statistics, 197,055 receive Adult Disability Payment for ‘Mental and Behavioural Disorders’ as of 31 October 2025. When adding up how much money each claimant is receiving in Adult Disability Payment, this totals £1,293,919,120 on an annualised basis in 2025-26. (Adult Disability Payment Statistics 31 October 2025, 16 December 2025, Tables 21 & 22, link; Adult Disability Payment, 24 March 2025, link).