Social Security (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2025

Prospective

1 Childhood assistance S

(1) The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (the “2018 Act”) is modified as follows.

(2) Section 32 and schedule 6 are repealed.

(3) After section 32 insert—

“32A Childhood assistance

(1) Childhood assistance is assistance (which may or may not take the form of money) given by the Scottish Ministers under section 24 to help towards meeting some of the costs associated with having a child in the family.

(2) The Scottish Ministers are to make regulations prescribing—

(a) the eligibility rules that are to be applied to determine whether an individual is entitled to childhood assistance, and

(b) what childhood assistance an individual who is entitled to it is to be given.

(3) Schedule 6A makes provision about the exercise of the power conferred by subsection (2).

(4) The Early Years Assistance (Best Start Grants) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (S.S.I. 2018/370) are to be treated for all purposes as if they were made by the Scottish Ministers under subsection (2).”.

(4) After schedule 6 insert—

“Schedule 6A S Childhood assistance regulations

(introduced by section 32A)

Part 1 S Eligibility

Chapter 1 S Eligibility is to depend on pregnancy or having responsibility for a child

1(1) The regulations must be framed so that an individual’s eligibility depends on the individual satisfying one of the primary eligibility criteria.

(2) But the regulations may make provision about giving childhood assistance for a specified period or specified number of occasions, and in specified circumstances, to an individual who previously satisfied one of the primary eligibility criteria but no longer does so.

(3) The primary eligibility criteria are that the individual—

(a) is, or has been, pregnant,

(b) has a relationship of a specified kind to another individual who is, or has been, pregnant,

(c) is to, or has, become responsible for a child,

(d) has a relationship of a specified kind to another individual who is to, or has, become responsible for a child.

(4) The regulations may make an individual’s eligibility depend on the individual—

(a) being, or having been, more than a specified number of weeks pregnant, or

(b) having, or having had, a relationship of a specified kind to another individual who is, or has been, a specified number of weeks pregnant.

(5) The regulations are to define what being responsible for a child means for the purpose of determining entitlement to childhood assistance.

(6) The regulations may make provision about giving childhood assistance to someone who meets one of the primary eligibility criteria within a specified period of a specified event occurring in a child’s life.

Chapter 2 S Further criteria

Limit to number of people entitled

2 The regulations may provide that an individual is not eligible, despite satisfying one of the primary eligibility criteria, on account of that criterion being satisfied in respect of the same child, or the same pregnancy, by someone else.

Residence and presence

3 The regulations may make an individual’s eligibility depend on the individual being resident and present in a particular place.

Financial circumstances

4 The regulations may make an individual’s eligibility depend on the individual’s financial circumstances.

Receipt of, or eligibility for, other types of State assistance

5 The regulations may make an individual’s eligibility depend on the individual—

(a) being, or not being, in receipt of another type of assistance (whether under this Act or another enactment),

(b) being, or not being, eligible or entitled to receive such assistance.

Application within specified period

6 The regulations may provide that an individual ceases to be eligible on account of satisfying one of the primary eligibility criteria unless, by a deadline specified in the regulations—

(a) the individual has applied for childhood assistance, or

(b) the Scottish Ministers have become required to make a determination of the individual’s entitlement to childhood assistance by regulations under section 52.

7 If the regulations include provision of the kind mentioned in paragraph 6(a), they may make provision about the circumstances in which an application made after the deadline specified in the regulations may be treated as if it had been made by that deadline.

Part 2 S Assistance to be given

Meeting liabilities

8 Where childhood assistance is given to an individual on the basis that the individual has ongoing entitlement to it, the regulations may provide for the assistance to be given (in whole or in part) by way of—

(a) payment to another person in order to meet, or contribute towards meeting, any liability the individual has to that person,

(b) deduction from any liability the individual has to the Scottish Ministers under—

(i) section 63, or

(ii) provision corresponding to section 63 made by regulations under section 79.

Restriction on giving assistance in a form other than money

9 (1) The regulations may allow childhood assistance to be given to an individual in a form other than money only if the individual (or a person acting on the individual's behalf) has agreed to the assistance being given in that form.

(2) If the regulations include provision of the kind mentioned in sub-paragraph (1), they must allow an individual (or a person acting on the individual’s behalf) to withdraw agreement to being given childhood assistance in a form other than money at any time.

(3) Sub-paragraph (4) applies where childhood assistance is given to an individual on the basis that the individual has ongoing entitlement to it.

(4) The regulations may provide for the assistance to be given (in whole or in part) by way of deduction, at a reasonable level, from any liability the individual has to the Scottish Ministers under section 63, or provision corresponding to section 63 made by regulations under section 79, if the individual has unreasonably refused to agree to the assistance being given in that form.

(5) For the purpose of sub-paragraph (4), “reasonable level” means a level that is reasonable having regard to the financial circumstances of the individual.

Part 3 S Final provisions

Generality of enabling power unaffected

10 Nothing in this schedule, apart from the following provisions, is to be taken to limit what may be prescribed in the regulations—

(a) Chapter 1 of Part 1,

(b) Part 2.

Interpretation

11 In this schedule—

• “eligibility” means eligibility for childhood assistance and “eligible” means eligible for childhood assistance,

• “the regulations” means regulations under section 32A(2),

• “specified” means specified in the regulations.”.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 1 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 27(2)