The Social Security (Cross-border Provision, Case Transfer and Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025: scrutiny report

The Scottish disability benefits and the main Scottish carer benefit (Carer Support Payment) all have equivalent payments in the UK social security system. When someone who gets a disability or carer benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions in England and Wales (DWP) or the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland (DfC) moves to Scotland, they also need to move to the equivalent Scottish benefit.

Up to now, these cross-border movers have been able to take advantage of a streamlined process for transferring to a Scottish benefit. Social Security Scotland can make a “determination without application” under the rules for devolved benefits. This means they can check if someone qualifies for a benefit without needing an application. If someone has moved to Scotland from elsewhere in the UK, Social Security Scotland can base their decision on the eligibility assessment already done by the Department for Work and Pensions or the Department for Communities for the equivalent benefit.

Various provisions within the draft Regulations remove the existing regulations that allow a determination without application when individuals move to Scotland from elsewhere in the UK, and they are paid Disability Living Allowance for children, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance or Carer’s Allowance by the Department for Work and Pensions or Department for Communities.¹Draft regulations 14(1) for Child Disability Payment, 15(1) for Adult Disability Payment, 16(1) for Carer Support Payment, 17(1) for Pension Age Disability Payment and 18(1) for Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance. This means that, for example, an individual who receives Personal Independence Payment in Northern Ireland but then moves to Scotland will in future have to apply for Adult Disability Payment.

In response to questions from SCoSS, the Scottish Government said that this change to the process for cross-border movers follows decisions made by the Department for Work and Pensions. The Scottish Government told us:

“Different options were explored with the Department for Work and Pensions, such as limited data sharing without forms and evidence, and receiving a notification of clients who have moved to Scotland, but these options were ruled out by the Department for Work and Pensions.”²Scottish Government response to a question from SCoSS received 26 February 2025.

Instead, the Scottish Government will, in future, require people making a cross border move to make a new application to Social Security Scotland in order to establish their eligibility.

These changes will increase the administrative burden on disabled people and carers who move to Scotland from other UK countries, and on Social Security Scotland. This could appear to go against the intention of both social security principle g (i) which states that when changes are made the needs of those who require assistance are put first and social security principle (h), which states that the Scottish social security system is to be efficient.³Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, section 1.

Given that the Department for Work and Pensions will no longer supply any information to Social Security Scotland when a claimant moves we understand the approach Social Security Scotland has taken. However, the information Social Security Scotland needs to start the disability benefit application process is very limited – just the name and date of birth of the individual who wishes to apply. This is known as the ‘required data’.⁴See, for example, The Disability Assistance for Working Age People (Scotland) Regulations 2022 Reg 35(4). If the Scottish Government could reach an agreement that allows the DWP to share the ‘required data’ with Social Security Scotland this could be used to start a claim for disability benefits. There would still be some increase to the administrative burden on applicants compared to the present, but less than is currently envisaged.

Recommendation 1: To reduce the additional administrative burden being placed on disabled people and carers as a result of the change in approach to data sharing, the Scottish Government should continue to work with the Department for Work and Pensions to reach an agreement to share the required data when they become aware that someone in receipt of disability benefits has moved to Scotland.

The Scottish Government has told us that it is continuing to explore options with the DWP on the specific issue of access to supporting evidence the DWP holds from cross-border movers with terminal illnesses. It is important that this group to ensure that these transfers are being appropriately handled and that any administrative burden on individuals and their families are reduced and, therefore, these efforts are particularly welcome.

Observation 1: We welcome the Scottish Government’s ongoing efforts to access evidence of terminal illness diagnoses held by the Department for Work and Pensions.

The draft Regulations introduce new provisions that are designed to ensure people can move to Scotland and switch to the relevant Scottish benefit with no interruption in entitlement. This is in keeping with principle (b), which states that social security is a human right, and principle (e), which states that the Scottish social security system is to contribute to poverty reduction.⁵Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, section 1.

For disability benefits, if someone supplies Social Security Scotland with their name and date of birth within 26 weeks of moving and completes their application within a further eight weeks (six weeks for Child Disability Payment), their entitlement to the Scottish disability benefit will begin the day after entitlement to the equivalent UK benefit ends. That entitlement ends 13 weeks after the individual moves to Scotland.

In response to our questions, the Scottish Government clarified that the differences between application periods reflects the difference in complexity of information required for each form of assistance.

“Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment have different criteria and therefore have different application forms which therefore request different types and levels of information. For example part 2 of the Adult Disability Payment application requires information on an individual’s ability to carry out a higher number of daily activities than the Child Disability Payment form; part 2 of the Adult Disability Payment application is also quite a bit longer. Therefore, more time is provided to complete the application. Of course, for both Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment, more time is provided to clients to complete part 2 of the application if they have a good reason for needing it.”⁶Scottish Government response to a question from SCoSS received 18 March 2025.

The draft regulations also allow Social Security Scotland to accept late applications where they are satisfied there is a “good reason” why the application was late.⁷For example, draft Regulation 52(5) for Adult Disability Payment. As we have noted in our upcoming report on people with communication needs and the Scottish social security system, Social Security Scotland clients report fears that delays in getting the right support could delay their application or cause them to miss deadlines relating to their claim.⁸SCoSS’s upcoming report “People with communication needs and the Scottish social security system: fulfilling the expectations of ‘Our Charter’”.

However, the way the regulations⁹For example in the amended The Child Disability Payment Regulations, Reg 35(5) only refers to Regs 35(3)(a)(ii) or (b)(ii), rather than also include Regs 35(3)(a)(i) and (b)(ii). The same applies to the Adult Disability Payment Regulations Reg 52(5), and The Pension Age Disability Payment Regulations Reg 44(5) are drafted means that ‘good reason’ only applies if the claimant has supplied Social Security Scotland with their name and date of birth within 26 weeks of moving, but did not complete their application within the subsequent six or eight weeks. If the ‘required data’ reaches Social Security Scotland after that 26 week period, even just by one day, they cannot get their award backdated, even if there is a good reason for the delay.

The Scottish Government told us that it considers 26 weeks to be sufficient time for cross-border movers to supply Social Security Scotland with their name and date or birth, particularly given that their award from Department for Work and Pensions or Department for Communities will end 13 weeks after moving to Scotland. Nonetheless, we remain concerned that a strict 26-week cut-off could cause problems for some individuals, who either may not be aware of the need to make a new claim or have good reason for failing to supply Social Security Scotland with the required information with the 26-week time period.

EXAMPLE: Sarah gets the enhanced rate of both components of Personal Independence Payment. She moves to Scotland to live with her daughter. Sarah has significant care needs and it takes several months to get a suitable care package in place in Scotland. After 6 months Sarah’s daughter realised she needs to inform the DWP that her mother has moved. She informs the DWP of her change of address. Her entitlement to Personal Independence Payment stops from the date she moves to Scotland. She has an overpayment of Personal Independence Payment to repay to the DWP. She makes a claim for Adult Disability Payment, but because she supplied Social Security Scotland with the required information after the 26 time limit she cannot get her Adult Disability Payment backdated. She has no opportunity to argue that she had a good reason for supplying her name and date of birth to Social Security Scotland.

The introduction of a further ‘good reason’ provision for individuals who miss the initial 26-week deadline for providing Social Security Scotland with this information would help reduce the risk of gaps in entitlement. This would be in keeping with social security principles g(i), b and e.¹⁰Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, section 1, (g(i)) opportunities are to be sought to continuously improve the Scottish social security system in ways which put the needs of those who require assistance first; (b) social security is itself a human right and essential to the realisation of other human rights; (e) the Scottish social security system is to contribute to reducing poverty in Scotland.

Recommendation 2: To ensure fairness in the system and reporting, Scottish Government should amend the draft regulations to include a good reason clause for a delay in telling Social Security Scotland that an individual in receipt of a UK disability benefit has moved to Scotland.

People who move to Scotland having received Carer’s Allowance in another UK country are also affected by the ending of the current data sharing arrangements with the DWP. The draft Regulations will require carers to apply for Carer Support Payment within 26 weeks of moving to Scotland for their entitlement to begin the day after their Carer’s Allowance ends. A further new provision allows individuals to apply for Carer Support Payment up to 13 weeks before they fulfil the conditions of entitlement, which means applications can now be made before entitlement to Carer’s Allowance ends.¹¹Carer’s Allowance can be paid for a 13-week run-on period after leaving England, Wales or Northern Ireland. In addition, Carer’s Allowance recipients who move to Scotland will be able to claim Scottish Carer Supplement (formerly Carer’s Allowance Supplement) and Carer’s Additional Person Payment immediately, without having to wait until they move to Carer Support payment.¹²Broader issues related to the introduction of the Scottish Carer Supplement and the Carer Additional Person Payment are addressed in SCoSS’s recent report on the draft Carer’s Assistance (Young Carer Grant and Carer Support Payment) (Miscellaneous Amendment and Saving Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2025.

Effective communication of the process to be followed on moving to Scotland will be critical to ensure that people can complete applications for their new Scottish benefits within the required period. The Scottish Government has told us that the Department for Work and Pensions or Department for Communities will write to clients who tell them they have moved to Scotland telling them the name of the benefit they need to apply for, a telephone number for Social Security Scotland and a link to the MyGov page providing information on social security for cross-border movers. While the Scottish Government told us it did not have an opportunity to codesign this letter, we think it would be helpful for Social Security Scotland to monitor how helpful the information provided, and the way in which it is presented, is to the recipients and feed back to the Department for Work and Pensions or Department for Communities if there are clear opportunities for improvement.

Internally, this will be a new set of rules and procedures for Social Security Scotland staff – which will presumably be encountered relatively infrequently. As we noted in our recent report on the Draft Carer’s Assistance (Young Carer Grant and Carer Support Payment) (Miscellaneous Amendment and Saving Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 there is some risk that clear and accurate information may not be presented to clients when niche scenarios occur.¹³Scottish Commission on Social Security: Scrutiny Report: the Draft Carer’s Assistance (Young Carer Grant and Carer Support Payment) (Miscellaneous Amendment and Saving Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2025, Recommendation 13 This means there is also a need to ensure that when cross-border movers do make contact, they receive the right guidance.

Recommendation 3: Social Security Scotland should monitor how helpful cross-border movers find the information they receive from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Communities, and pass on feedback if it identifies areas where this can be improved.

Recommendation 4: To ensure clear and accurate information is given to cross-border movers affected by various backdating rules, Social Security Scotland should provide more training and guidance for staff on provisions that are less commonly encountered.

Once a client supplies their name and date of birth to Social Security Scotland in Part One of the application process for a cross-border move, they have 26 weeks to complete their application (Part 2).

There appears to be a risk that the new provisions for cross-border movers may clash with existing Social Security Scotland data protection processes. For example, at present, in order to protect a client’s personal data, incomplete Adult Disability Payment applications are deleted 90 days after submission of Part One of the application is submitted.¹⁴mygov.scot – How to apply for Adult Disability Payment Part One consists of the ‘required data’ of name and date of birth that cross-border movers will have to submit to Social Security Scotland within 26 weeks of moving to Scotland. However, the draft Regulations allow some cross-border movers longer than 26 weeks to complete their application. If their award is to commence the day after their Personal Independence Payment award ends, Adult Disability Payment Regulation 52(3)(b), as inserted by the draft Regulations, requires the cross-border mover to:

1. Submit the required data within 26 weeks of moving to Scotland
2. Complete the application within eight weeks of submitting the required data, or within 26 weeks of moving to Scotland, whichever is later.

In principle, an individual in receipt of a disability benefit who moves to Scotland could supply Social Security Scotland with their name and date of birth the day they move, then in law they will have another 181 days in which they could complete the remainder of the application. However, if current processes are followed their application could be deleted after 90 days.

Recommendation 5: To avoid administrative error and additional burden on clients, Social Security Scotland’s processes should be amended in order to ensure a client’s information is not deleted within the timescale for a cross-border move.

The draft regulations revoke case transfer provisions for disability benefits and Carer Support Payment to reflect that the initial introduction of these benefits, and therefore the requirement for provisions allowing for this level of data sharing, comes to a conclusion. The Scottish Government note that “anyone who has started the transfer process before these regulations come into force will be able to complete the process” and that these regulations will come in force in a staggered fashion to take account of the different end dates of case transfer for each benefit. As we have endorsed in other reports, this is a welcome example of tidying up of redundant regulations.