Social Security assistance in Scotland: up-rating for inflation - 2025-2026

4. Social Security Payments in 2024-25

4.1 The social security payments Social Security Scotland are responsible for during the financial year 2024-25 are:

4.2 Carer’s Allowance Supplement: providing extra support to people who receive Carer’s Allowance in Scotland. Paid every six months, it was initially set at a level that would raise Carer’s Allowance to match the rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) for those aged 25 and over. This payment has been up-rated annually since 2018-19 in line with section 81 of the 2018 Act, which calculates the supplement as the difference between Carer’s Allowance and JSA, had it been up-rated in line with inflation.

4.3 As a result of this up-rating and since the UK Government has not routinely up-rated JSA in line with inflation, Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Allowance Supplement combined now exceed the equivalent weekly rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance. The rate of Carer’s Allowance Supplement in 2024-25 is £288.60 in each bi-annual payment.

4.4 Young Carer Grant (YCG): provides eligible young carers aged 16, 17 and 18 with a payment of £383.75, which can be applied for each year. Since 2020-21, this payment has been up-rated in accordance with the legal requirement.

4.5 Carer Support Payment (CSP): is designed to provide financial assistance to those people supplying regular and substantial care to someone in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit. To be eligible to receive this payment, earnings must be a specific amount or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses. The earnings limit for 2024-25 is £151.00.

4.6 This payment replaces Carer’s Allowance for people in Scotland and the current rate of this payment for 2024-25 is £81.90. Although there is a statutory duty to up-rate CSP, there is no statutory duty to up-rate the earnings limits.

4.7 Child Disability Payment (CDP): provides support for the extra costs that a child or young person with disabilities may have. This payment replaced Disability Living Allowance for children (DLAC) in Scotland and is available to children and young people from the age of 3 months to 18 years old, who have care and/or mobility needs as a result of a disability.

4.8 CDP consists of a care and a mobility component, and an eligible child may qualify for either of these or both, depending on the nature of their disability. The care component has three different payment rates: lowest (£28.70), middle (£72.65) and highest (£108.55). The mobility component comprises two rates: lower (£28.70 if the child is 5 or over) and higher (£75.75 for children aged 3 or over). Both care and mobility components are paid four-weekly in arrears, except for terminally ill children, whom Social Security Scotland pay weekly. There is a statutory requirement to up-rate Child Disability Payment.

4.9 Adult Disability Payment (ADP): provides financial assistance to help meet the additional costs of living with a disability or health condition. It is the most complex form of assistance delivered by Social Security Scotland. This payment replaces Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in Scotland for individuals aged between 16 and state pension age (subject to some exceptions) who are making an application for disability assistance.

4.10 It consists of two components, the daily living component and the mobility component. The first provides two levels of assistance for individuals who face increased barriers to carrying out daily living activities as a result of physical or mental health condition(s) and/or disability with the standard rate (£72.65) and the enhanced rate (£108.55). The mobility component provides two levels of assistance for individuals who face increased barriers to carrying out mobility activities as a result of physical or mental health condition(s) and/or disability: the standard rate (£28.70) and the enhanced rate (£75.75).

4.11 A transitional rate for ADP was introduced for adults in Scotland who currently receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and were under 65 when PIP was introduced on 8 April 2013. ADP does not have an equivalent of the lowest rate of the care component in DLA so in this situation, people are transferred to a special ‘transitional rate’ of the daily living component paid at the lowest rate of the care component, currently £28.70. This transitional rate will be paid until the case is reviewed against the eligibility rules for ADP. There is a statutory requirement to up-rate ADP including this transitional rate.

4.12 Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP): provides support to older people who have a disability or long term health condition that means they need assistance with looking after themselves, or supervision to keep them safe. PADP consists of two rates of assistance, the higher rate (£108.55) and the lower rate (£72.65). This payment is designed to replace Attendance Allowance (AA) and following the successful pilot in Argyll & Bute, Highland, Aberdeen City, Orkney and Shetland, the payment will be available across the whole of Scotland from late April 2025.

4.13 Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA): is intended to improve outcomes for disabled people, by providing financial assistance to help meet the additional costs of living with a disability or health condition. This form of assistance will replace Disability Living Allowance in Scotland for adults who are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance as administered by the Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of Scottish Ministers in Scotland. It will be a closed benefit, meaning it will not be open to new applications. It is intended only for those whose awards are transferred from Disability Living Allowance. This new benefit will be delivered by Social Security Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Ministers.

4.14 SADLA consists of a care and mobility component. The care component provides three rates of assistance: lowest (£28.70), middle (£72.65) and highest (£108.55). The mobility component comprises of two rates: lower (£28.70) and higher (£75.75).

4.15 Short-term assistance: is available where Social Security Scotland has made a decision to reduce or stop an ongoing award and that decision is subject to a request for a re-determination or an appeal. The intention is to ensure that an individual is not discouraged from challenging a decision or from accessing administrative justice by having to manage, for a period of time, with a reduced income. At this time, this assistance is available for ADP, PADP and CDP. It will also be available for SADLA when it is introduced. The value of the short-term assistance would always reflect any up-rating during the period that it is in payment, ensuring that while a re-determination or appeal remains live, the client is not disadvantaged compared to an individual who remains entitled to the principal form of assistance.

4.16 Scottish Child Payment (SCP): is paid as a top up of certain qualifying reserved benefits (notably Universal Credit) using powers available under the 2018 Act. It is intended to help towards the costs of supporting a family and forms part of the wider Scottish Government strategy to combat child poverty. Available to children under 16, it is paid every four weeks in arrears to clients with the currently weekly rate set at £26.70. There is a statutory requirement to up-rate Scottish Child Payment under the 2018 Act.

4.17 Funeral Support Payment (FSP): is a one-off payment designed to help meet the costs of a funeral with the current flat rate at £1,257.75 for funeral costs but with provision for further associated costs also available (e.g. cremation costs). FSP has provided an average payment of £2,087 towards the total costs of each funeral claimed for so far in 2024-25. The total value of FSP paid out in the first three months of 2024-25 is just over £3 million. There is a statutory requirement to up-rate this payment each year.

4.18 Best Start Grant (BSG): provides support during three key transition points in a child’s early years. The Pregnancy and Baby Payment provides £754.65 for a first child and £377.35 for second and subsequent children (with some exceptions for the higher payment to be made in certain circumstances for subsequent children). Both the Early Learning Payment and the School Age Payment provides £314.45 per child, with the former designed to support child development and the latter to help with the costs of preparing for school. The UK Government makes no equivalent provision to either the Early Learning or School Age Payments.

4.19 Best Start Foods (BSF): is a payment available to low-income pregnant women, their partners and children aged up to three years old. It is paid as a credit onto a payment card that can be used to buy healthy foods such as milk, fruit and vegetables. The rates were increased in April 2024 to £5.30 per week for each child 1 year or older, and £10.60 per week for every child under 1 year old. In February 2024, legislation was passed which removed the income thresholds for this payment, increasing eligibility by around 15,000 people. The legislation also confirmed that the higher rate of BSF is calculated as double the basic rate. As this payment is not delivered under the 2018 Act, there is no statutory requirement to up-rate or to provide inflation-adjusted figures in this report, but they are included for completeness.

4.20 Job Start Payment (JSP): provides a one-off payment to eligible young people to help them with costs they may incur when starting a new job. A payment of £314.45 or £503.10 (higher award if responsible for a child) is available to young people who reside in Scotland aged 16 to 24 and aged up to 25 for care leavers. Job Start Payment is not delivered under the 2018 Act and so there is no statutory requirement to up-rate or to provide inflation-adjusted figures on this payment in the report but these have been included for completeness.

4.21 Child Winter Heating Payment (CWHP): provides an annual payment of £251.50 (rate in 2024-25) to children and young people with disabilities in receipt of the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance for children, Child Disability Payment or the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment or Adult Disability Payment, to support households with the additional costs associated with winter fuel bills.

4.22 Winter Heating Payment (WHP): is an annual payment of £58.75 (rate for 2024-25) for households in receipt of certain low-income benefits who may have extra heating needs over winter, such as those of pension age, disabled adults, or a family who have responsibility for a child under 5 or a disabled child.

4.23 Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP): is a payment designed to mitigate some of the impact of additional domestic heating costs for those of state pension age with a low income. It is currently a single annual payment of £200 or £300 for individuals, dependent on the person’s age and their entitlement to relevant benefits during the qualifying week. Proposed changes to PAWHP were announced on 28 November 2024, with the aim to deliver this payment universally to every pensioner household by next winter (2025-26).