Part 1 – Types of Social Security Assistance
Section 1: Childhood assistance
7.The Scottish Child Payment is currently delivered under section 79 of the 2018 Act as a ‘top-up’ where an individual is receiving a qualifying UK Government benefit. Section 1 of the Act provides a new enabling power for the Scottish Ministers to give childhood assistance under section 24 of the 2018 Act.
8.Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the 2018 Act sets out the nine existing types of assistance that are to be given by the Scottish Ministers under section 24. Each assistance type is described at a high level by a section of Chapter 2, setting out the characteristics of the assistance, for example an activity that qualifies for assistance (such as caring for a disabled person), a purpose of assistance (such as to help with heating costs) or an event that qualifies for assistance (such as an employment-related injury). Regulations then set out the eligibility rules that will determine entitlement to assistance and what assistance is to be provided. For all sections there is a link to a schedule which makes further provision about the content of regulations.
9.Section 1 of the Act follows this same approach in inserting a new section 32A and schedule 6A into the 2018 Act. These amendments together provide for childhood assistance, which is assistance to an individual to help towards meeting some of the costs associated with having a child in their family. This form of assistance will also effectively replace Early Years Assistance, with section 1 of the Act repealing section 32 and schedule 6 of the 2018 Act once the powers are commenced. The Act also makes transitional provision so that the regulations under the 2018 Act providing for Best Start Grants are to be treated as if they were made using the new power in section 32A(2).
10.Under paragraph 1 of schedule 6A, the primary eligibility criteria for childhood assistance are that the individual is, or has been, pregnant; has a particular relationship to another individual who is, or has been, pregnant; is to, or has, become responsible for a child, or has a particular relationship to an individual who is to, or has, become responsible for a child. Regulations under section 32A must define what being responsible for a child is to mean (paragraph 1(3) of schedule 6A).
11.The regulations may also make provision about continuing to give childhood assistance for a specific period, and in specific circumstances, to an individual who previously satisfied one of the primary eligibility criteria but no longer does so (paragraph 1(2) of schedule 6A). It is envisaged that this power would be used, for example, to give childhood assistance to a recently bereaved parent.
Section 2: Care experience assistance
12.Section 2 of the Act inserts a new section 93A into the 2018 Act, giving a regulation-making power to the Scottish Ministers to create a scheme providing for a new kind of social security assistance for individuals with experience of being in the care system, known as “care experience assistance”. This regulation-making power is subject to the affirmative procedure. The power allows flexibility as to who would deliver care experience assistance in practice.
13.An example of what having had experience of being in the care system could mean would be an individual who has been looked after by a local authority (within the meaning given by section 17(6) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995) – or an individual who has been subject to a kinship care order (within the meaning given by section 72 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014).
14.The detail of the scheme would be set out in the regulations. Subsection (3) of inserted section 93A sets out that provision can be made in the regulations for who is to administer the scheme; how entitlement is to be determined; the amount of assistance; the process by which assistance is sought and determined; what happens if assistance is given incorrectly; and creating offences. Subsections (4) to (7) make equivalent provision on the application of offences to these regulations as section 80A of the 2018 Act on “top-ups” of reserved benefits.
15.Subsection (9) of inserted section 93A provides that Ministers have the power to give directions to the person administering the scheme for care experience assistance in relation to the implementation of the scheme; that the administrators must comply with Ministerial directions; and that Ministers must publish any directions that they give.
