Social security - cross-border amendment and case transfer revocation: Equality and Fairer Scotland Duty impact assessments considerations

Note on impact assessments approach

This note summarises the impact assessments for improvements to disability and carer benefits which the Scottish Government plans to implement through the draft Social Security (Cross-border Provision, Case Transfer and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025. This note also covers the changes made to the Best Start Foods and Best Start Grant regulations.

We considered that rather than updating the range of impact assessments produced for the original regulations for the benefits covered by these amendment regulations, it would be more effective to focus on any additional or different impacts of the changes being made through these regulations. However, this note refers to and builds on the previous impact assessments, and going forward we will continue to consider equality impacts as a whole across the suite of disability and carer benefits available in Scotland.

The full range of impact assessments carried out alongside the development of Scottish benefits are available to read online, as well as the policy notes published alongside the earlier amendment regulations^[1].

The impact assessments considered in this document are:

• Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)
• Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment (FSDA)

In line with statutory obligations, the Children’s Rights and Well-being Impact Assessment (CRWIA) for the draft regulations will be published separately. We will also publish our assessment that a full Island Communities Impact Assessment isn’t necessary.