These Regulations bring section 2(4) of the Social Security Administration and Tribunal Membership (Scotland) Act 2020 (“the 2020 Act”) into force, for a limited purpose, on 23 December 2020.

Section 2(4) of the 2020 Act inserts new section 85B into the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (“the 2018 Act”). Section 85B gives the Scottish Ministers the power, in certain circumstances, to appoint an appointee to act on behalf of an individual in connection with the determination of the individual’s entitlement to assistance under Part 2, or under regulations for “top-up” assistance made under section 79, of the 2018 Act.

Section 2(4) is commenced only in so far as it inserts new section 85B(1) to (11) into the 2018 Act, and only for the purpose of allowing appointments to be made in respect of an individual’s entitlement to assistance under top-up regulations under section 79 of the 2018 Act in certain circumstances where the individual is deceased or the individual is incapable within the meaning of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. Appointments in respect of an individual’s entitlement to assistance under Part 2 of the 2018 Act will continue to be made under section 58 of that Act, until such time as section 2(2) of the 2020 Act is brought into force.

The Bill for the 2020 Act received Royal Assent on 10 November 2020. In accordance with section 18(1) of that Act, sections 1, 4, 5, 6, 14, 17, 18 and 19 came into force the following day.