Social Security (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill: business and regulatory impact assessment - updated April 2025

Legal Aid Impact Test

The Scottish Government does not anticipate significant impacts on the legal aid budget as a result of the Bill.

The right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security Chamber) is provided for in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. Currently, Civil Legal Aid or Assistance By Way of Representation (ABWOR) is not available for social security matters before the First-Tier Tribunal. Advice and Assistance is available to provide advice to a person in relation to social security matters, however legal aid funding for representation before the First-Tier Tribunal in relation to social security matters is not available. As such, any increase in appeal volumes attributable to the provisions in the Bill is unlikely to affect the legal aid budget.

Impact on legal aid budgets must be assessed in a BRIA for each new assistance provided for under the 2018 Act. This Bill is providing for powers for both childhood assistance and care experience assistance within the 2018 Act, which in due course will lead to new types of assistance. However provision for those forms of assistance will be substantively made within secondary legislation, for which a separate BRIA will be undertaken.

Civil Legal Aid will continue to be available to clients to appeal an entitlement decision to the Upper Tribunal, Court of Session or Supreme Court.

The Scottish Government expects the impact on the Legal Aid budget to be minimal as a result of the introduction of the proposals in the Bill.