Social security (miscellaneous amendment) (Scotland) regulations 2025 - islands and communities impact assessment
This Impact Assessment considers impacts on island communities of removing Tax Credits as qualifying benefits for certain devolved benefits. Includes references to changes in Scottish Child Payment, Carers Allowance and Young Carer Grants appeals regulations and Discretionary Housing Payments.
Information relating to island communities
The forms of assistance provided by Social Security Scotland are provided to people on low incomes, people with disabilities, or people with unpaid caring responsibilities.
In 2011, island residents reported their general health as marginally better than the Scotland population as a whole: 83% of island residents reported their health as being ‘Very good’ or ‘Good’ compared with 82% for Scotland as a whole. Amongst the island groups, this proportion ranged from 59% in Flotta to 98% in Easdale.
Much of this variation is likely to be associated with the age profile of island populations – nationally the proportion of the population reporting their general health as ‘Very good’ or ‘Good’ was 97% for those aged under 25 compared with 48% and 35% respectively for those aged 75 to 84 and aged 85 and over.[3]
Social Security Scotland publishes information on its client base for the various forms of assistance it delivers, including analysis by local authority area.[4] The figures are not however broken down into mainland and island groupings, as some local authorities cover some islands and some parts of the mainland.
There are no impacts or outcomes that will differ across the islands as a result of the amendments as Tax Credits will not exist anywhere in the UK, and the Social Security (Information-sharing) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 apply in the same way across Scotland.
Contact
Email: chris.loh@gov.scot