Payments for children
The best start grant is available now to help with costs in pregnancy or starting to care for a baby and with extra costs for a child around nursery age and school age. Best start foods replaces Healthy Start vouchers. A new Scottish child payment will be available from December 2020.
Benefits for carers
Carer's allowance supplement is available now for people who are getting carer’s allowance in Scotland. A young carer grant supports some young people caring for a disabled person and carer’s assistance will replace carer’s allowance in Scotland.
Funeral support payment
The payment provides help for people on a low income with the costs of a funeral. This payment has replaced the social fund funeral expenses payment in Scotland.
Disability assistance
Disability assistance will replace disability living allowance, personal independence payment and attendance allowance in Scotland
Universal credit Scottish choices
With Scottish choices, you can ask for universal credit to paid twice a month and for the amount in universal credit for rent to be paid direct to your landlord.
Winter heating assistance
Winter heating assistance will replace the current UK-wide Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments in Scotland.
Council tax reduction
Council tax reduction reduces the amount of council tax you have to pay if you have a low income. This is a Scotland-wide scheme administered by local authorities.
Housing assistance
Discretionary housing payments are available now to help meet a shortfall in your rent if you get housing benefit or universal credit. More powers will be used in future to change the way your housing costs are calculated for universal credit.
Scottish Welfare Fund
The Scottish Welfare Fund provides crisis grants for living expenses in the event of an emergency or disaster, and community care grants to enable and support independent living.
Find the rules that set out how Scottish benefits work, and official guidance for use by decision makers.
Benefits which stay in the UK system
- Bereavement benefits
- Child benefit
- Employment and support allowance
- Guardian’s allowance
- Housing benefit
- Income support
- Jobseeker’s allowance
- Maternity allowance
- Pension credit
- State pension
- Statutory payments such as statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay
- Tax credits
- Universal credit
Learn more
Contact CPAG in Scotland’s Advice Line for frontline advisers and support workers
Tell us how the system is affecting your clients: