Social Security Programme 2017-2026: Delivery Report

Delivering Benefits to the People of Scotland

Given the breadth and scale of the Programme’s remit, and the involvement of many external stakeholders both in Scotland and the wider UK, a clearly defined set of objectives which the Programme would deliver was established and published in our business case.

Set up a new public body - Social Security Scotland

Deliver a system that is focused on client’s needs

Deliver modern, efficient, and secure systems

Safely and securely launch new claims

Deliver a safe and secure transition

Establish effective relationships

Deliver value for money

Deliver capability for the future

These objectives were designed to align with the social security principles, as shown on next page.

Social Security Principles

Social security is an investment in the people of Scotland

Social security is itself a human right and essential to the realisation of other human rights

The delivery of social security is a public service

Respect for the dignity of individuals is to be the heart of the social security system

The social security system is to contribute to reducing poverty

The Scottish social security system is to be designed with the people of Scotland on the basis of evidence in Scotland

Opportunities are to be sought to continuously improve the Scottish social security system in ways which: put the needs of those who require assistance first; advance equality and non-discrimination

The Scottish social security system is to be efficient and deliver value for money

Programme Business Case Objectives

Set up a new public body: Social Security Scotland

Deliver a system that is focused on clients’ needs

Deliver modern, efficient and secure systems

Safely and securely launch new claims

Deliver a safe and secure transition

Establish effective relationships

Deliver value for money

Deliver capability for the future

Delivery against these objectives has helped us mark our progress throughout the Programme, ensuring that we adhered to the principles as we delivered the objectives.

Alongside the establishment of Social Security Scotland, the Programme was originally charged with delivering a range of Scottish social security benefits including assistance for families, disabled people and carers as well as help with heating costs for older people.

Five Family Payments

Pregnancy and Baby Payment

Early Learning Payment

School Age Payment

Best Start Foods

Scottish Child Payment

Disability Benefits

Adult Disability Payment

Child Disability Payment

Pension Age Disability Payment

Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance

Carer Benefits

Carer Support Payment

Carer Additional Person Payment

Young Carer Grant

Carer’s Allowance Supplement

Winter Heating Benefits

Child Winter Heating Payment

Pension Age Winter Heating Payment

Winter Heating Payment

Other Benefits

Funeral Support Payment

Job Start Payment

In 2020, the Scottish Government introduced an additional benefit, the Scottish Child Payment (SCP).

The Programme successfully incorporated SCP into its delivery schedule and implemented it, for eligible children, in two phases (for 0 to 6-year-olds in 2021, extended to 16-year-olds in 2022), the first of which was delivered from inception to first payment in just 18 months.

In addition to these benefits the Programme has consulted on Employment Injuries Assistance (a payment to potentially replace the UK Government’s Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit) and Scottish Choices in Universal Credit, providing flexibility for Scottish Universal Credit recipients about when to have the benefit paid and giving them the option of having the housing costs element of the benefit paid directly to a client’s landlord on behalf of the client.

The benefits we have delivered are:

Carer’s Allowance Supplement (launched September 2018)

An extra payment, initially made twice a year now replaced by Scottish Carer Supplement and paid alongside Carer Support Payment (see below). When introduced, it brought the total value of Carer’s Allowance in Scotland in line with the value of Jobseeker’s Allowance, which it now exceeds.

Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment (launched December 2018)

Replaced Sure Start Maternity Grant in Scotland, to provide lower-income families with financial support during the key early years of a child’s life.

Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment (launched April 2019)

A new one-off payment to help with the costs of early learning when a child is between 2 and 3½ years old.

Best Start Grant School Age Payment (launched June 2019)

A new one-off payment to help with the costs of preparing for school when a child is first old enough to start primary school.

Best Start Foods Payment (launched August 2019)

A prepaid card that can be used to buy healthy foods for children under 3.

Funeral Support Payment (launched September 2019)

Assistance for people on low incomes who need help to pay for a funeral they are arranging, which replaced Funeral Expense Payment in Scotland.

Young Carer Grant (launched October 2019)

A new benefit which provides a one-off annual payment to those with caring responsibilities aged 16, 17 and 18 and extended to those aged 19 from November 2025.

Job Start Payment (launched August 2020)

A new benefit aimed at supporting young people moving back into employment.

Scottish Child Payment (launched in February 2021)

A new benefit to tackle child poverty. This is a regular payment to eligible lower-income families in receipt of qualifying benefits. It was extended to children under 16 in November 2022.

Child Winter Heating Payment (launched November 2020)

A new benefit to support the families of children and young people to help mitigate the additional heating costs that the households of the most severely disabled children and young people face. This is in the form of an annual payment.

Child Disability Payment (pilot commenced July 2021, launched nationally in November 2021)

Replaced Child Disability Living Allowance in Scotland to provide support for families with a disabled child with the additional costs of looking after them.

Adult Disability Payment (pilot commenced March 2022, launched nationally in August 2022)

Replaced Personal Independence Payment in Scotland to provide support for disabled adults with the additional costs of a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability.

Winter Heating Payment (WHP) (launched in February 2023)

Replaced Cold Weather Payment (CWP) in Scotland. An annual payment to low-income households who would have previously been eligible for CWP. CWP provides a payment every time the average of the mean daily temperatures recorded for seven consecutive days is equal to or below zero degrees however WHP removes the dependency on the weather, providing instead reliable and guaranteed support each winter.

Carer Support Payment (pilot commenced November 2023, launched nationally in November 2024)

Replaced Carer’s Allowance in Scotland. For people who care for someone in receipt of certain disability benefits for 35 hours per week or more. Carer Support Payment extended eligibility to many full-time students who would not be eligible for Carer’s Allowance, removing barriers to education.

Pension Age Disability Payment (pilot commenced October 2024, launched nationally in April 2025)

Replaced Attendance Allowance in Scotland to provide support for disabled people or those with a long-term health condition that means they need help looking after themselves or supervision to stay safe. It is paid at two different rates depending on your care needs. Those with a terminal illness are automatically entitled to the higher rate.

Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (transfer of cases commenced March 2025 and completed December 2025)

Replaced Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for Scottish clients. This benefit is not open to new applications, it was designed specifically for existing DWP DLA clients in Scotland.

Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (launched November 2025)

Replaced Winter Fuel Payment in Scotland to help people of state pension age pay their heating bills. It is paid once a year to all people over state pension age. Those with earnings over £35,000 will have the payment recovered by HMRC. It was originally due to be launched November 2024 but changes to the UK Winter Fuel Payment’s policy resulted in a delay.

Carer Additional Person Payment (launched March 2026)

New support for those getting Carer Support Payment and caring for more than one disabled person.

The launches of both Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment marked particularly significant milestones for the Programme. Not only were these our most complex benefits to date, but they were also the first of our application-based benefits and the first disability benefits anywhere in the UK that people can apply for online as well as by telephone, post or face-to-face.

Throughout the Programme’s lifecycle, we have automated payments where possible so that people who are entitled to a benefit can receive it without having to apply. This helps to ensure take-up of our benefits is maximised, one of the key priorities set out in the Our Charter and a founding principle in the 2018 Act. This includes, for example, automatically awarding Child Winter Heating Assistance for children in receipt of the highest rate of care component in Child Disability Payment, Carer’s Allowance Supplement for clients receiving Scottish Care Payment and automatically awarding Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment to eligible families in receipt of Scottish Child Payment. Importantly, this means that we deliver a more efficient service and maximise value for money, also key principles for our system.

We have also established a Local Delivery Service, employing people across all 32 Scottish Local Authorities who provide face-to-face and at-home support to clients, making sure the most vulnerable and difficult-to-reach individuals have access to our benefits and other services. Finally, a ground-breaking Independent Social Security Advocacy Service provides free and independent advocacy for disabled people looking to apply for devolved benefits and is available from pre-application through to appeal, including support at tribunals where necessary.