Back

The Care Leaver Payment (Scotland) Regulations 2026: scrutiny report

The Scottish Commission on Social Security's scrutiny report on the draft Care Leaver Payment (Scotland) Regulations 2026

Download report

Contents

1. Introduction

1.1 About the Scottish Commission on Social Security

The Scottish Commission on Social Security plays an essential role in the development and delivery of a Scottish Social Security system based on fairness, dignity and respect by providing independent scrutiny of the Scottish social security system. Our full functions are set out in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018.1

We are separate from the Scottish Government, and carry out our work independently of both Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament.

For more information about the Scottish Commission on Social Security visit: https://socialsecuritycommission.scot/.

1.2 Overview

1.2.1 Social security principles and Our Charter

We are pleased to present our report on the draft Care Leaver Payment (Scotland) Regulations 2026 (referred to in this report as the ‘draft regulations’).

Care Leaver Payment differs from previous social security benefits introduced by the Scottish Government and this has implications for our scrutiny of the draft regulations. The introduction of the payment marks the first use of the new powers under section 93A(1) of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (‘The Act’), allowing Scottish Ministers to establish one or more schemes to give financial assistance to individuals who have had experience of being in the care system.¹ While the primary legislative basis for the payment is the Social Security (Scotland) Act, the Minister and policy team working on the payment sit within the Scottish Government’s Children, Young People and The Promise portfolio. Payments will not be made by Social Security Scotland, but by a local authority.

Any benefit created within the scope of section 93A does not form part of the ‘Scottish social security system’ as defined by section 23 of the Act. However, we are specifically required to give regard to the social security principles in our scrutiny of the regulations.²

The social security charter (‘Our Charter’) does not apply to the Scottish Government or local authorities when making regulations to establish the Care Leaver Payment or in its administration.³ The Charter does apply to the Scottish Government in the development of the policy that the regulations are intended to deliver.⁴

The Scottish Government noted in response to questions that local authorities would deliver the payment under the Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) principles.

“Local Authorities will deliver the [Care Leaver Payment] in a manner that accords with GIRFEC, which would naturally include delivering the [Care Leaver Payment] in a way that respects the dignity of the individual.”⁵

While there are some similarities between the rights-based framing of GIRFEC (and the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators included within the GIRFEC approach⁶) and the principles and charter, GIRFEC is not as specific as Our Charter about what people can expect from the service (e.g. formats/ways of communicating), nor as comprehensive or proactive (for example, the Charter refers to telling you about entitlements and supporting you through application). Given that the Care Leaver Payment is being established within the scope of the Social Security (Scotland) Act, we work on the basis that the social security principles and Charter represent the established benchmark for best practice in this field.

Finally, since the Care Leaver Payment sits outside Part 2 of the Act, the standard provisions on the determination of applications, redeterminations, appeals, information provision and overpayments do not apply. We discuss some of the implications of this in part 4.1 of this report.

Recommendation 1: The Scottish Government and local authorities should give due regard to the social security principles and the social security charter in the design, administration and the development of guidance for Care Leaver Payment.

Our scrutiny considered both the social security principles (Annex A), the ‘Our Charter’ expectations and relevant human rights provisions.

Among these, we saw that the following social security principles were particularly relevant:

Principle (a) social security is an investment in the people of Scotland;
Principle (b) which recognises social security as a human right and as a means of enabling other rights; and
Principle (g) opportunities are to be sought to continuously improve the Scottish social security system in ways which— (i) put the needs of those who require assistance first, and (ii) advance equality and non-discrimination. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was also relevant. In particular it requires:
Governments ensure children’s rights to social security (Article 26)
An adequate standard of living (Article 27); and
Children have the right to express their views and participate in decisions that directly affect them (Article 12).

1.2.2 Scrutiny process

Throughout the scrutiny process, we worked closely with officials and are grateful for their detailed and prompt responses to our questions, and the draft impact assessments, which helped us better understand the policy behind the draft regulations and their anticipated impact. We engaged with stakeholders on the detail of the draft regulations hosting a policy roundtable with input from four organisations. We also received written comments from stakeholders which are incorporated into this report.

In this report we examine the Scottish Government’s approach to the payment and its purpose and value, how local authorities will deliver the payment and the challenge rights and safeguards afforded to care leavers throughout the process. We also address several technical issues in the draft regulations.