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

The Scottish Government has committed to developing a payment to provide young people moving on from care with “additional financial security”. The 2021/22 Programme for Government noted that this would be “a £200 annual payment over 10 years to young people with care experience between the age of 16 and 26.”

Following stakeholder feedback and early user testing, by the November 2023 consultation the Scottish Government had revised its approach and proposed the payment be a one-off lump sum payment of £2000, which reflected “views on the current cost of living and the potential limited impact of yearly payments of £200. It has also been highlighted that it could be challenging to deliver annual payments over 10 years without a re-application process.”¹Scottish Government, Care Leaver Payment Consultation, November 2023

Some stakeholders noted that the amount may not cover the costs faced at this point. We note the Scottish Government’s commitment to ensuring that Care Leaver Payment is delivered alongside other forms of support for care experienced people, however other forms of support may be paid at the discretion of the local authority. We, therefore, believe that the amount of the payment should be kept under review as evidence about use of the payment becomes clear.

Recommendation 3: The Scottish Government should keep the amount of the payment under review based on the outcomes achieved for care leavers.

There may be a risk that local authorities, could see the payment as a replacement for existing leaving care grants rather than an additional payment. There is also a risk that these decisions could be subject to inconsistent implementation across Scotland’s thirty two local authority areas.

This risk could be mitigated through guidance from the Scottish Government, saying that Care Leaver Payment cannot be used as a replacement for other support. This would reflect the approach the Scottish Government has taken to the Care Experienced Bursary, where guidance was updated to note that they payment was not intended to “act as a replacement for any other financial support received by this group.”²Scottish Government, Care Experienced Bursary Policy Note, June 2019

Recommendation 4: National guidance should state that the payment is supplementary to, and not a replacement for, existing care leaver provision.

Regulation 4(2) allows the responsible authority, with the agreement of the individual, to give the payment in whole or in part in the form of a voucher or in whole or in part to a provider of goods or services on behalf of the individual. We acknowledge that an alternative to money may be needed in certain circumstances.

However, paying money should be the default as it is with other types of social security assistance.³For example, a Young Carer Grant ‘is to be given as money’ by regulation 12(2) of The Carer’s Assistance (Young Carer Grants) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 but can be offered in another form by agreement. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2019/324/part/4 This can promote independent living in line with principle (d) of the social security principles (respect for the dignity of individuals is to be at the heart of the Scottish social security system).⁴Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 Regulations for Care Leaver Payment, unlike other benefits, do not make this expectation clear.

Recommendation 5: Regulation 4 should explicitly say that the payment is to be given as money subject to the option to pay in another way by agreement.  The guidance should make it clear that money should be the default.