The Welfare Foods (Best Start Foods) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2023: business and regulatory impact assessment

Benefits

Removing the income thresholds will result in approximately 20,000 additional individuals being eligible for BSF.^[18] This will mean more children and pregnant persons in low income families can benefit from the support provided by BSF. Furthermore, children whose parents/carers have fluctuating incomes from work - such as those who do seasonal work, have variable incomes or flexible contracts - will be less likely to move in and out of BSF eligibility.

Making WTC a qualifying benefit in its own right will mean more low income pregnant persons can benefit from the support provided by BSF. It may also help individuals who are receiving WTC but who aren’t responsible for the child for CTC purposes – this could include some kinship carers.

Making 18 and 19 year old dependants who are pregnant automatically eligible for BSF without the need for the individual they are dependent upon to receive a qualifying benefit, provided they meet the residency conditions, will mean that access to BSF for young pregnant persons will be improved. Furthermore, we will extend their ongoing entitlement so that where the pregnant person stops being a dependant during pregnancy they will remain entitled until they reach the end of their pregnancy. This will ensure that young pregnant persons have access to some financial support during their pregnancy. This support will help them to achieve a diet that contains adequate nutrients and energy to allow proper foetal growth and development as well as providing the nutrients needed for maintaining their own health.

We will also amend the eligibility rules for children so that children under three are eligible if the individual responsible for them or the partner of that individual:

• is under 18, or
• is an 18 or 19 year old dependant, or
• was eligible to receive BSF during pregnancy due to being under 18 or an 18 or 19 year old dependant (but no later than the child’s third birthday).

If the individual responsible for the child turns 18 or ceases to be a dependant aged 18 or 19 years old before the child turns one, the child will continue to be eligible up until the child turns one or reaches the first anniversary of its estimated delivery date, whichever is later.

By expanding automatic eligibility to children whose parents are 18 or 19 year old dependants, young parents will be able to more easily access BSF, a need which was highlighted by the original consultation on Social Security Scotland, A New Future for Social Security.^[19] Unpublished internal analysis carried out by the Communities Analysis Division to inform this EqIA has found that it is likely there are not more than 800 dependants aged 18 or 19 years old giving birth each year.

Ensuring that at a minimum support continues until the child turns one or reaches the first anniversary of its estimated delivery date will ensure that young parents continue to receive support to breastfeed or purchase first infant formula for their baby, whichever is their choice.

Allowing eligibility to continue beyond the child’s first birthday where the individual responsible for them or their partner is under 18 or an 18 or 19 dependant will ensure that young parents are supported to buy healthy and nutritious food for their children, helping to establish positive eating behaviours and reduce their risk of obesity and other health conditions. Unpublished internal analysis carried out by the Communities Analysis Division to inform this EqIA has found that there are around 100 under 18 parents responsible for a child who is aged one or two and up to 700 parents who are dependants aged 18 or 19 who are responsible for a child who is aged one or two. The changes we are making will ensure that these young parents are not disadvantaged because they are unable to access a qualifying benefit due to their age. This is particularly important given the strong relationship between parental age and child poverty rates.

Providing a further eight weeks entitlement to BSF when entitlement to Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit ends will mean all children will continue to benefit from the support that BSF provides when their family’s income is in transition.

By increasing the number of individuals who are eligible for BSF and ensuring entitlement to BSF continues for a period of eight weeks when entitlement to Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit or Housing Benefit ends, more money will be spent on healthy food and milk in local economies which will have a positive impact for food retailers that sell these products. It may also result in less demand on health services as individuals have improved access to a healthy diet and may therefore be more likely to be of a healthy weight.

The estimated additional 20,000 eligible people resulting from removal of the income thresholds is equivalent to less than 0.5% of the Scottish adult population so the proportion of people within the full economy benefiting is small. Additionally, the standard payment amount is worth less than 1% (around 1.5% for the higher amount) of UK median income so it is unlikely to make a significant impact on spending habits. However, research has shown that is likely that there would be an increase in food spending (including fruit and vegetables) amongst the group that will receive the benefit following the change.^[20]

Making explicit that where they have legal capacity to be paid, entitled young pregnant persons, partners of a pregnant person and young parents to an entitled child who is under three can be paid BSF in their own right will help to empower young parents and also mitigate the risk of financial coercion or abuse. Furthermore, this change will make clear that pregnant persons, partners of pregnant persons and young parents to an entitled child who are under 16 and who are not dependent upon anyone, are able to access a payment.

Furthermore, we will make the individual who a pregnant person is dependent on and the partner of that individual, entitled to receive BSF in their own right so that young parents can have choice in how they access the benefit.

Putting it beyond doubt that payments can be made in a way other than the prepaid card could have a positive impact on some individuals with a disability or long term health condition who find that due to their needs, the card is not accessible. This clarity could also be helpful for some young pregnant persons and parents as there is a lower age threshold which is applied to the prepaid card.

Other changes we are making to further align eligibility and procedures for BSF with BSG and SCP are expected to make entitlement simpler to understand and therefore make it easier to access BSF, supporting increased take-up of the payments. The changes will also reduce the need for some individuals to have to reapply for BSF. For example, where an individual has been denied BSF due to not being in receipt of a qualifying benefit or child responsibility benefit and subsequently receives a backdated award of that benefit backdated to include the date of original application for BSF.

Ensuring that all individuals are able to access their entitlement and improving take-up will help ensure that those who are eligible for BSF utilise the financial support it provides. This will have a positive impact for food retailers that sell healthy food and milk. It may also result in less demand on health services as individuals have improved access to a healthy diet. Reducing the need for some individuals to have to reapply or submit a review request for BSF could reduce the demand on Social Security Scotland as they will be able to award BSF without having to process a new application or internal review.