Take-up rates of Scottish benefits - 2026

Introduction

“Our Charter” sets out what people should expect from Social Security Scotland and the Scottish Government in relation to the delivery of Scotland’s social security system. This includes a commitment to work towards a better future by investing in the people of Scotland, making a positive difference to all our lives and helping people access the financial support they are entitled to. Scottish Ministers also have a statutory duty to promote take-up of Scottish social security assistance and to publish a Benefit Take-Up Strategy setting out the steps they intend to take to improve take-up.

Analysis of take-up rates is therefore important to understand to what extent social security benefits delivered in Scotland are reaching the people intended and how that is changing over time. This is the fifth annual publication of estimates of take-up of the Scottish benefits delivered by Social Security Scotland, covering:

• Scottish Child Payment (including local authority estimates)
• Best Start Grant
• Best Start Foods (including local authority estimates)
• Young Carer Grant
• Funeral Support Payment
• Job Start Payment

What is take up?

• A take-up rate is the percentage of people entitled to a benefit that receive it.
• Some people do not apply for the benefits they are entitled to because of the barriers they experience doing so. These barriers can include the impact of stigma, difficulty navigating complex application processes, or a lack of information about entitlements, eligibility, or how to apply. Take-up rates are calculated by dividing the number of recipients of a benefit by the number of people eligible for the benefit (whether they received the benefit or not).
• While the number of people receiving these benefits is known, the number of people eligible for these benefits has to be estimated. This means the take-up rates in this publication are estimates only and contain a degree of uncertainty.

Graphic text below:

Benefit Recipients - 7

Eligible Population - 10

Equals - 70% Take-up Rate

As part of the Scottish Government's commitment to improve understanding of the reach of social security benefits, this publication also introduces new disability benefit benchmarks. This is analysis in development; unlike the take-up estimates presented elsewhere in this publication, these benchmarks are not based on an estimate of the eligible population and do not measure take-up. Instead, they bring together information about disability benefit recipients, application outcomes and the disabled population to provide an indication of how disability benefits are reaching disabled people over time. The methodology is new and will continue to be developed in the future as more evidence and data becomes available.

Benefit take-up strategy

The Scottish Government is publishing its Benefit Take-Up Strategy for 2026 to 2031 alongside this report. The Strategy sets out an ambition for Scotland to have a more joined-up, proactive and accessible approach to benefit take-up, helping people realise their rights and access the support they are entitled to when they need it.

The Strategy focuses on four priority areas: data sharing, signposting and referrals, pre-application support, awareness raising, outreach and engagement, and accessible processes and automation. It recognises that improving take-up requires action across the wider system, including devolved and reserved benefits, local support and public services.

This publication complements the Strategy by providing estimates of take-up where robust data are available, alongside evidence about changes in benefit receipt and the challenges associated with producing take-up estimates for disability benefits.

Reserved benefit take-up

This report sits within a wider and growing evidence base on benefit take-up across Scotland and the UK. As part of this, the Department for Work and Pensions is expected to publish its first robust estimates of take-up for Universal Credit and equivalent benefits shortly after publication of this report. This is particularly relevant for devolved benefits for low-income households, where entitlement is linked to receipt of a qualifying reserved benefit.

The forthcoming Universal Credit estimates, together with the analysis of eligibility for passported benefits presented later in this report, will provide important additional context for interpreting the results presented here and understanding how effectively the wider social security system is reaching eligible households. However, they should not be interpreted as an alternative or adjusted measure of take-up for Scottish benefits.