Scottish Child Payment Amendment Regulations 2021: scrutiny report

This report provides the views of the Scottish Commission on Social Security (SCoSS) on the Scottish Child Payment Amendment Regulations 2021 (‘the amending regulations’). These seek to amend the Scottish Child Payment Regulations 2020.  SCoSS has already reported twice on draft Scottish Child Payment (SCP) regulations and this further report builds on that scrutiny.

In accordance with its statutory function, SCoSS’s consideration of the amending regulations took account of the Scottish social security principles and relevant provisions of human rights law. Our scrutiny was also informed by a briefing that Scottish Government officials provided at our board meeting in October 2020.

In referring the amending regulations to SCoSS for scrutiny, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People stated that they were designed to clarify the Scottish Government’s policy and delivery intent on two issues: nil awards and payment cycles. These issues are considered in turn below. We then consider how the process by which the Scottish Government develops regulations could be improved.