EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations bring sections 2, 9, 17, 20, 21, 22, and 23 of the Social Security (Scotland) (Amendment) Act 2025 (“the Act”) into force on 10 May 2025.

Section 2 of the Act inserts section 93A (Scheme to provide care experience assistance) into the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (“the 2018 Act”), giving a regulation-making power to the Scottish Ministers to create a scheme providing for financial assistance for individuals with experience of being in the care system, known as “care experience assistance”.

Section 9 of the Act amends section 49 (First-tier Tribunal’s power to determine entitlement) of the 2018 Act to make clear that the First-tier Tribunal must not take into account circumstances which did not exist at the relevant time but may take into account circumstances which existed but were not known at the relevant time.

Section 17 of the Act amends sections 86A (duty to consider effects of inflation) and 86B (duty to uprate assistance) of the 2018 Act. Section 17 extends section 86A of the 2018 Act to include assistance created under the care experience assistance power in section 2 of the Act. It also extends section 86B to include all Scottish social security payments delivered under the 2018 Act.

Section 20 amends section 97 (further procedure for regulations about assistance) of the 2018 Act to extend the types of regulations to be subject to scrutiny by the Commission.

Section 21 of the Act repeals the Commission’s status as a body corporate under section 21(2) of the 2018 Act.

Section 22 repeals paragraph 12 of schedule 1 of the 2018 Act and removes the Commission’s accounting and auditing duties.

Section 23 creates a new annual reporting duty for the Commission by amending section 22 of the 2018 Act on the Commission’s functions.

Regulations 3, 4, 5 and 6 make transistional and savings provisions in respect of the commencement of sections 9, 22 and 23, respectively.

The Bill for the Act received Royal Assent on 23 January 2025. Sections 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 of the Act came into force on the day after Royal Assent in accordance with section 27(1) of the Act.