Benefits in Scotland

Child Disability Payment (CDP) replaced Disability Living Allowance for children in November 2021 for all new claimants. You do not need to apply for CDP if you already get Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Social Security Scotland will move your benefit to Child Disability Payment without you needing to follow the normal application process (although they might contact you in some circumstances if needed). However, please note that the way the mobility component is assessed for children with sight loss is different and therefore you may want to confirm the rate awarded after transfer is correct. CDP provides support for the extra costs that a disabled child might have. It is not means tested so it does not matter how much income or savings you have.

You can claim and be awarded CDP if:

• You are ordinarily resident in Scotland, habitually resident in the common travel area, not subject to immigration control, are present in the common travel area and have been present for not less than 26 weeks in the previous 52 weeks (limited exemptions apply); and
• you do not already have a claim for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for the child in question (see note below); and
• you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16 with a long-term health condition or disability, such as sight loss; and
• your child has had these problems for at least 13 weeks; and
• your child is expected to have these problems for at least 26 weeks; and
• your child’s needs satisfy the criteria.

Further information about CDP can be found in our factsheet:

Benefits for Children (Scotland) (Word)

What comes after Child Disability Payment?

Social Security Scotland will pay CDP until the young person is 18, when they will be required to claim ADP instead. They can sometimes continue making payments after the child is 18. This can happen when the young person is terminally ill or is waiting for a decision on their ADP application, for example.

Further information can be found in our factsheet:

Claiming Adult Disability Payment as a child or young person in receipt of Child Disability Payment (Scotland) (Word)

If you live in Scotland and are currently claiming DLA for children, you can find out more about the transfer process in our factsheet:

Social Security Scotland – case transfer for Child Disability Payment (Word)

ADP replaced DLA for adults and PIP from August 2022 for all new claimants. You do not need to apply for Adult Disability Payment if you already get Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for adults from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Social Security Scotland will move your benefit to Adult Disability Payment without you needing to follow the normal application process (although they might contact you in some circumstances if needed). However, some people will need to be re-assessed after the transfer is completed, if previously entitled to DLA, because the ADP assessment is different to DLA.

ADP provides support for the extra costs that a disabled adult might have.  It is not means tested so it does not matter It does not matter if you're working or not. Your income and savings are not taken into account.

You can claim and be awarded ADP if:

• You are ordinarily resident in Scotland, habitually resident in the common travel area, not subject to immigration control, are present in the common travel area and have been present for not less than 26 weeks in the previous 52 weeks (limited exemptions apply); and
• you do not already have a claim for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP); and
• you are aged between 16 years and State Pension Age; and
• you have either a physical or mental health condition or disability; or
• you are terminally ill.

What comes after Adult Disability Payment?

You can’t make a new claim for ADP after reaching state pension age. However, once ADP has been awarded as a working age claimant, there is no age-related end date, and it can continue to be paid as long as you meet the conditions of entitlement.

Further information including how much it’s worth and advice on how to make a claim can be found in our factsheet:

Adult Disability Payments (Scotland) (Word)

If you live in Scotland and are currently claiming PIP or DLA for adults, you can find out more about the transfer process in our factsheet:

Social Security Scotland – case transfer for Adult Disability Payment (Word)

Carers Support Payment (CSP) is replacing Carers Allowance (CA) from November 2023 in a phased, geographical roll out. From spring 2024, there will be a phased approach to the national roll out, with applications to the benefit opening up in more areas over the coming months and available nationally by autumn 2024. You do not need to apply for CSP if you already get CA from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Social Security Scotland will move your benefit to CSP when the national roll out beings next year, without you needing the follow the normal application process (although they might contact you in some circumstances if needed).

Further information will be provided in due course.

Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP) is replacing Attendance Allowance (AA) from October 2024 in a phased, geographical roll out. This means you need to check whether it is available in your area and if it isn’t you should apply for AA from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) instead. You will not need to apply for PADP if you already get AA from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Social Security Scotland will move your benefit to PADP when the national roll goes live, from early 2025, without you needing to follow the normal application process (although they might contact you in some circumstances if needed).

You can claim and be awarded PADP if you are not already in receipt of a disability/health related benefit such as AA/PIP/DLA or Adult Disability Payment and;

• you are ordinarily resident in Scotland, habitually resident in the common travel area, not subject to immigration control, are present in the common travel area and have been present for not less than 26 weeks in the previous 52 weeks (limited exemptions apply); and
• you are aged over State Pension Age; and
• you have either a physical or mental health condition or disability; or
• you are terminally ill

Child winter heating assistance is payable to all families with a severely disabled child, aged 18 or under and receiving one of the following benefits on at least 1 day during the 'qualifying week'. The qualifying week is the third week in September every year.

• the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children
• the highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment
• the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment

The child winter heating payment is £251.50 in winter 2024-2025 and is payable for each severely disabled child. If a qualifying benefit is awarded later but backdated to cover this date, child winter heating payment is awarded. Child Winter Heating Payment is issued automatically, and recipients do not usually need to apply.

For further information, including whether you need to apply, go to: https://www.mygov.scot/child-winter-heating-payment.

Winter Heating Payment is to help people on low-income benefits who might have extra heating needs. It replaces the Cold Weather Payment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and has the same eligibility requirements. Unlike the Cold Weather Payment, Winter Heating Payment does not depend on how cold the temperature gets. Winter Heating Payment is a yearly payment of £58.75 that’s paid automatically.

For further information, including eligibility, go to: https://www.mygov.scot/winter-heating-payment/eligibility.

Carer's Allowance Supplement is an extra payment for people in Scotland who get Carer's Allowance (or the new Carers Support Payment) on a particular date. Most payments will be made automatically.

Carer's Allowance Supplement is paid 2 times a year.

The 2024 payments are:

• £288.60 from 9 June 2024 – you'll get this payment if you're getting Carer's Allowance/Carer Support Payment on 8 April 2024
• £288.60 in December 2024 – you'll get this payment if you're getting Carer's Allowance/Carer's Support Allowance on 7 October 2024

To get Carer's Allowance Supplement you must:

• live in Scotland on a particular date or have a genuine and sufficient link to Scotland
• be getting Carer's Allowance payments (or Carer Support Payment if this is live in your area) on a particular date

The person you care for does not have to live in Scotland.

For more information, including whether you need to apply, please see: https://www.mygov.scot/carers-allowance-supplement.

Scottish Child Payment helps towards the costs of supporting your family. It's a weekly payment of £26.70 that you can get for every child you look after who's under 16 years of age. You'll get the payment every 4 weeks if your application is successful.

You may be able to get Scottish Child Payment if all of the following apply:

• you live in Scotland
• you or your partner are getting certain benefits or payments
• you or your partner are the main person looking after a child who's under 16 years old

For more information, including how to claim please see: https://www.mygov.scot/scottish-child-payment.

Young Carer Grant is a yearly payment of £383.75 for young carers in Scotland. To be able to get Young Carer Grant, you must be 16, 17 or 18 years old and not in receipt of Carer’s Allowance or Carer Support Payment.

You must also have been caring for 1, 2 or 3 people for an average of 16 hours a week for at least the last 3 months. If you care for more than one person, you can combine the hours of the people you care for to average 16 hours a week. The people you care for must be in receipt of a qualifying benefit (e.g. Adult Disability Payment).

You can get Young Carer Grant once a year, up until you turn 19. You'll need to fill in a new form or call Social Security Scotland each year you want to apply.

For more information, including how to claim please see: https://www.mygov.scot/browse/benefits/carers/young-carer.

Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods are payments that help towards the costs of being pregnant or looking after a child. 

Best Start Grant is made up of 3 one-off payments:

• Pregnancy and Baby Payment
• Early Learning Payment
• School Age Payment

Best Start Foods is a prepaid card that can be used in shops or online to buy healthy foods like milk or fruit.

The payments you can get now will depend on:

• how far along in your pregnancy you are
• how old your child is

Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods are 2 separate payments. You apply for both Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods using the same form. This is to make sure you can get all the payments you can without having to fill in more than one form. You'll get separate letters to let you know whether you'll get each payment.

If you can get one payment now and another in the future, you'll need to fill in a new form each time you apply.

For more information, including how to apply, please see: https://www.mygov.scot/best-start-grant-best-start-foods.

Funeral Support Payment helps pay for funeral costs if you live in Scotland. You can use the payment towards funeral costs for a baby, child or adult. This includes babies who were stillborn.

It usually will not cover the full cost of the funeral, but it should help pay for some costs. It can be paid either to you or the funeral director who's helping you plan the funeral.

Only one person can get Funeral Support Payment for the funeral.

You will not be eligible if you've already had other government support for the funeral, this includes:

• Funeral Expenses Payment (England or Wales)
• Funeral Payment (Northern Ireland)
• your hospital arranging and paying for your baby's funeral if you had a stillbirth and you did not have to pay any other costs

For more information, including how to apply, please see: https://www.mygov.scot/funeral-support-payment.

Social Security Scotland provide a Local Delivery service in every local authority area in Scotland to provide support to claim and manage the benefits they deliver: https://www.mygov.scot/if-you-need-help-from-social-security-scotland/local-delivery.

Social Security Scotland also provide an advocacy service to anyone in Scotland who self-identifies as disabled, to help them to understand and access Social Security Scotland benefits.

You can contact Social Security Scotland by post, webchat, or on our freephone number from any phone.

By webchat

You can contact Social Security Scotland between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday (except for bank holidays) on webchat at: https://chat.socialsecurity.gov.scot/

This service can be used for general enquiries:

• to check the progress of your application
• to let them know something's changed with your application

By phone

Freephone: 0800 182 2222 between 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday (except for bank holidays).

If you're a British Sign Language user, you can use the contact Scotland service to contact Social Security Scotland: https://contactscotland-bsl.org/

By post

Social Security Scotland
General Enquiries
PO Box 10301
Dundee
DD1 9FY

Support is also available for parents, guardians, or carers who are accessing benefits for a disabled child. Or for parents, guardians, or carers who are disabled and want support to access social security benefits for their child.

For more information, please see: https://www.voiceability.org/support-and-help/support-to-access-benefits-in-scotland.