Scottish benefits 2026/27: every Social Security Scotland payment, its rate and who qualifies
Every Social Security Scotland benefit for 2026/27 - Scottish Child Payment £28.20 a week, Best Start, ADP, Carer Support Payment - with rates and rules.
The short answer
If you live in Scotland, Social Security Scotland, not DWP, now pays the disability and carer benefits, the payments for babies and young children, and the winter heating payments. Some replace a UK benefit (Adult Disability Payment instead of PIP, Carer Support Payment instead of Carer's Allowance, Pension Age Winter Heating Payment instead of the Winter Fuel Payment). Others exist only in Scotland, such as the Scottish Child Payment of £28.20 a week per child under 16. Universal Credit, the State Pension and Pension Credit are still paid by DWP.
The list below follows Social Security Scotland's own list of the benefits it currently delivers (socialsecurity.gov.scot, Our benefits): five family payments, four disability payments, three carer payments plus the Young Carer Grant, three heating payments, Funeral Support Payment and Job Start Payment. The 2026/27 rates come from the Scottish uprating regulations, SSI 2026/170, which raised them from 1 April 2026 (5 April for Carer Support Payment, 6 April for the disability payments; regulation 1). Job Start Payment is not in those Regulations, so its figure is from mygov.scot.
All Social Security Scotland benefits at a glance
| Benefit | 2026/27 amount | Instead of (rest of UK) |
|---|---|---|
| Scottish Child Payment | £28.20 a week per child | Nothing: Scotland only |
| Best Start Grant: Pregnancy and Baby Payment | £796.65 first child, £398.35 later child | Sure Start Maternity Grant |
| Best Start Grant: Early Learning Payment | £331.95 once | Nothing: Scotland only |
| Best Start Grant: School Age Payment | £331.95 once | Nothing: Scotland only |
| Best Start Foods | £22.40 or £44.80 every 4 weeks | Healthy Start |
| Adult Disability Payment | £30.30 to £194.60 a week | PIP |
| Child Disability Payment | £30.30 to £194.60 a week | DLA for children |
| Pension Age Disability Payment | £76.70 or £114.60 a week | Attendance Allowance |
| Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance | Same rates as DLA (closed to new claims) | DLA for adults |
| Carer Support Payment | £86.45 a week | Carer's Allowance |
| Scottish Carer Supplement | £11.70 a week | Nothing: Scotland only (replaced Carer's Allowance Supplement for Carer Support Payment carers) |
| Carer Additional Person Payment | £10.40 a week per extra person | Nothing: Scotland only |
| Young Carer Grant | £405.10 a year | Nothing: Scotland only |
| Child Winter Heating Payment | £265.50 a year | Nothing: Scotland only |
| Pension Age Winter Heating Payment | £105.55 to £316.70 a year | Winter Fuel Payment |
| Winter Heating Payment | £62 a year | Cold Weather Payment |
| Funeral Support Payment | Burial or cremation costs plus £1,327.75 | Funeral Expenses Payment |
| Job Start Payment | £331.95, or £531.10 with children | Nothing: Scotland only |
Disability ranges run from the lowest single component to the two highest components together. "Instead of": GOV.UK's PIP, Attendance Allowance, DLA for children, Carer's Allowance, Cold Weather Payment, Sure Start Maternity Grant and Funeral Expenses Payment pages each tell Scottish residents to claim the Scottish payment instead; mygov.scot points people outside Scotland to Healthy Start in place of Best Start Foods.
Family payments: Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods
Scottish Child Payment
£28.20 a week for every child under 16 you look after, paid every four weeks (£112.80). The rate is set by SSI 2026/170 regulation 8, up from £27.15. You can get it if you live in Scotland, you or your partner are the main person looking after the child, and you or your partner get Universal Credit or income-based JSA. Pension Credit, Income Support and income-related ESA also count, but the person named on that benefit has to apply. Child Benefit on its own does not qualify, and the payment does not affect your other UK or Scottish benefits (mygov.scot, who should apply).
Best Start Grant
- Pregnancy and Baby Payment: £796.65 for your first child (your oldest child under 16, including a stepchild or a child you have taken on) and £398.35 for each later child, plus £398.35 extra for each additional baby in a multiple pregnancy. You can apply from the end of the 24th week of pregnancy until the baby is 6 months old. You cannot get it if you already had a Sure Start Maternity Grant for the same baby.
- Early Learning Payment: £331.95, when the child is between 2 and 3 years 6 months old. The child does not need to go to nursery.
- School Age Payment: £331.95 per child, in the year the child is first old enough to start primary school, even if you defer. For children born 1 March 2021 to 28 February 2022 the window is 1 June 2026 to 28 February 2027 and is open now. You cannot apply outside the window. It does not replace the council's School Clothing Grant.
The amounts are in SSI 2026/170 regulation 3. Source for the conditions and the window: mygov.scot, Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods.
Best Start Foods
A prepaid card for healthy food from pregnancy until the child turns 3, paid every four weeks: £22.40 during pregnancy, £44.80 for each child from birth to age one and £22.40 for each child aged one to 3. That follows the weekly value of £5.60 in SSI 2026/170 regulation 4, doubled for babies under one.
Who qualifies for Best Start: you live in Scotland, are the main person looking after the child, and you or your partner normally get Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Pension Credit, income-based JSA or income-related ESA. If you are under 18 you do not need any benefit, and an 18 or 19 year old can qualify through a parent or carer who gets Child Benefit, Universal Credit child payments or the Pension Credit child addition for them (mygov.scot, who should apply). One form covers all five family payments.
Announced, not yet in force: the Scottish Government says it plans a new premium in Scottish Child Payment during 2027/28 that would raise the weekly payment to £40 for each eligible child under one (gov.scot, 13 February 2026). It is not in the 2026 uprating Regulations, and gov.scot gives the timing only as 2027/28. The draft Scottish Budget 2027-28 was scheduled for Thursday 3 December 2026, per the Deputy First Minister's letter to Parliament's Finance Committee; this page does not reflect anything announced in it.
Disability payments
None of these are means-tested: income and savings do not count. They are normally paid every four weeks, or weekly in advance if you are terminally ill. Rates from 6 April 2026 (SSI 2026/170 regulations 9, 10, 13 and 16).
| Weekly rate | Adult Disability Payment | Child Disability Payment | Pension Age Disability Payment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily living / care: lowest | - | £30.30 | - |
| Daily living standard / care middle / PADP lower | £76.70 | £76.70 | £76.70 |
| Daily living enhanced / care highest / PADP higher | £114.60 | £114.60 | £114.60 |
| Mobility: standard / lower | £30.30 | £30.30 | No mobility part |
| Mobility: enhanced / higher | £80 | £80 | No mobility part |
- Adult Disability Payment replaces PIP. You must be between 16 and State Pension age and have a disability, long-term condition or terminal illness; you can apply while waiting for a diagnosis, and working does not matter. Terminal illness means the enhanced daily living rate automatically (mygov.scot, who can apply). If you already get it, you stay on it after State Pension age. For how the UK version is assessed, see our PIP eligibility guide.
- Child Disability Payment replaces DLA for children under 16 in Scotland. The care part can start from 3 months old and the mobility part from age 3 (the lower mobility rate from age 5). It is normally paid until 18; a young person can choose to move to Adult Disability Payment from around 16, and can apply 13 weeks before their 16th birthday (mygov.scot, payments).
- Pension Age Disability Payment replaces Attendance Allowance. You must have reached State Pension age and normally have had care needs for 6 months; you cannot get it and Attendance Allowance at the same time. If you still get Attendance Allowance, Social Security Scotland moves you across without an application, and DWP pays you until it does. If a council pays for your care home, you usually cannot get it (mygov.scot, who can apply). Compare the UK rules in our Attendance Allowance guide.
- Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance is not open to new claims. It holds the awards of adults in Scotland who were still on DLA when those awards moved from DWP. The 2026/27 rates under SSI 2026/170 regulation 16(2) are care £30.30, £76.70 or £114.60 and mobility £30.30 or £80 a week. Anyone on it who was born on or after 9 April 1948 can choose to apply for Adult Disability Payment instead (mygov.scot).
- Short-term Assistance is not a separate benefit with its own rate. If Social Security Scotland reduces or stops one of the three disability payments above and you challenge the decision, it can make up the reduced amount while your challenge goes on. You do not have to pay it back whatever the outcome, unless the award was fraudulent, and an overpayment of it can be recovered if it came from an error you caused or contributed to (mygov.scot).
Carer payments
In Scotland you claim Carer Support Payment instead of Carer's Allowance. Social Security Scotland awards three payments together, paid every four weeks at the end of the period. If you or the person you care for are terminally ill, you can choose to be paid weekly in advance instead. The 2026/27 rates and earnings limit apply from 5 April 2026 (SSI 2026/170 regulation 12) (mygov.scot):
- Carer Support Payment, up to £86.45 a week. You must be 16 or over, usually live in Scotland, care unpaid for at least 35 hours a week for someone who gets a qualifying benefit, and in 2026/27 your take-home pay must be no more than £204 a week after tax, National Insurance and certain expenses (who can apply, if you work). Qualifying benefits include the daily living part of Adult Disability Payment or PIP, the middle or highest care rate of Child Disability Payment or DLA, Pension Age Disability Payment and Attendance Allowance (full list). Full-time students aged 20 or over can get it; there are limits for 16 to 19 year olds at school or college.
- Scottish Carer Supplement, £11.70 a week, paid automatically on top, unless your Carer Support Payment is £0 (see below). It does not affect other benefits. From March 2026 it replaced Carer's Allowance Supplement for carers getting Carer Support Payment. The small number of carers in Scotland who still get Carer's Allowance keep Carer's Allowance Supplement, paid twice a year; mygov.scot gives its annual amount as £609 (mygov.scot, Scottish Carer Supplement).
- Carer Additional Person Payment, £10.40 a week for each extra person you care for at least 20 hours a week who also gets a qualifying benefit. Only one person can get it for the same cared-for person.
The State Pension catch. Social Security Scotland reduces Carer Support Payment if you get the State Pension, Maternity Allowance, New Style JSA or ESA, or certain other income-replacement benefits. If one of them pays you £86.45 a week or more, your Carer Support Payment is £0, and then you get neither the supplement nor the additional person payment. mygov.scot says it can still be worth claiming, because you might get more from other benefits. Personal and workplace pensions do not reduce it. Universal Credit does not reduce it either; it works the other way, and DWP reduces your Universal Credit (mygov.scot, State Pension and other benefits). The rules for Carer's Allowance in England and Wales are in our Carer's Allowance guide.
Young Carer Grant, £405.10 a year (SSI 2026/170 regulation 6), for carers aged 16 to 19 who have looked after one or more people getting a disability benefit for an average of 16 hours a week over the last 3 months. You can get it once a year until you turn 20, with a full year between applications, and not if you already get Carer Support Payment or Carer's Allowance (mygov.scot, who should apply).
Winter heating payments
- Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, £105.55 to £316.70 (SSI 2026/170 regulation 15(3)), instead of the Winter Fuel Payment. For winter 2026 to 2027 you must have been born on or before 27 June 1960 and lived in Scotland on at least the last day of the qualifying week, 21 to 27 September 2026 (mygov.scot). Living alone it is £211.15, or £316.70 at 80 or over. Payments start from November 2026. The amounts by household, and the £35,000 income charge HMRC applies to it as well, are on our Winter Fuel Payment 2026/27 page.
- Child Winter Heating Payment, £265.50 (SSI 2026/170 regulation 7), once a year for each child or young person under 19 who gets the highest care rate of Child Disability Payment or DLA for children, or the enhanced daily living rate of PIP or Adult Disability Payment, on at least one day in the third full week of September. It is paid automatically (mygov.scot).
- Winter Heating Payment, £62 (SSI 2026/170 regulation 11), instead of Cold Weather Payments. It is a single payment from December whatever the weather, paid automatically if you get a qualifying benefit in the qualifying week, 2 to 8 November 2026: Pension Credit, or certain awards of Universal Credit, Income Support, income-based JSA, income-related ESA or Support for Mortgage Interest (for example with a disability element or premium, or a child under 5; mygov.scot lists the exact conditions) (mygov.scot, qualifying benefits).
For the Warm Home Discount and other energy help, see help with energy bills, winter 2026/27.
Funeral Support Payment and Job Start Payment
Funeral Support Payment has replaced the Funeral Expenses Payment in Scotland. You can get it if you live in Scotland, you or your partner get Universal Credit, Income Support, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, income-based JSA or income-related ESA, it is reasonable for you to be responsible for the funeral, and you apply within 6 months of the funeral (mygov.scot). It usually covers the burial, cremation or hydrolysis cost, plus a fixed £1,327.75 towards other funeral costs, or £162.05 if the person had a funeral plan (SSI 2026/170 regulation 5, for applications from 1 April 2026; mygov.scot amounts). How it compares with England and Wales is on our Funeral Expenses Payment page.
Job Start Payment is a one-off £331.95, or £531.10 if you are the main carer of any children, towards the cost of starting a job. You must be 16 to 24 on the date of the job offer (up to 25 for care leavers), have been out of paid work for at least 6 months and on Universal Credit, income-based JSA, Income Support or income-related ESA for at least 6 months (contribution-based JSA or ESA before that can count towards the 6 months), have a job offer of at least 12 hours a week, live in Scotland on the day of the offer, and apply within 6 months of it. You can get it once every 2 years (who can apply, your payment). Care leavers have their own conditions on mygov.scot.
What DWP and councils still pay in Scotland
Social security is reserved to the UK Parliament, except for areas the Scotland Act 1998 carves out, among them disability benefits, carer's benefits and help with maternity, funeral and cold-weather heating expenses (Scotland Act 1998, Schedule 5, Part II, Section F1). That is why the benefits above moved to Social Security Scotland and the rest did not: Social Security Scotland says DWP also delivers benefits in Scotland (Our benefits). Universal Credit is a UK-wide benefit reserved to the UK Government (gov.scot), and mygov.scot sends Scottish residents to GOV.UK for the State Pension, Maternity Allowance and New Style JSA and ESA (mygov.scot). Pension Credit is also a DWP benefit covering England, Scotland and Wales (GOV.UK), and it is one of the qualifying benefits for several Scottish payments above.
Universal Credit Scottish choices. If you live in Scotland you can choose to have Universal Credit paid twice a month instead of monthly, and to have the housing element paid directly to your landlord. DWP runs both on the Scottish Government's behalf (gov.scot, Scottish choices). New claimants are asked about twice-monthly payment after the first payment; existing claimants can ask their work coach. With twice-monthly payment the first payment is still a full month and the second month is then split into two halves 15 days apart (GOV.UK, how you're paid). To estimate your award, use the Universal Credit calculator.
Councils handle the Scottish Welfare Fund ("You can only apply through your local council") and school clothing grants (mygov.scot). The Scottish free school meals rules are on our free school meals page. Scottish income tax is separate again: see the Scottish income tax bands for 2026/27.
Moving between Scotland and the rest of the UK. If you get PIP, Attendance Allowance or Carer's Allowance and move from England or Wales to Scotland, GOV.UK says to tell DWP and make a new claim for the Scottish payment; the DWP benefit stops 13 weeks after you move. DLA for a child continues for up to 13 weeks. Moving the other way, tell Social Security Scotland and claim the DWP benefit as soon as you move (GOV.UK PIP, Attendance Allowance, DLA for children, Carer's Allowance).
Frequently asked questions
How much is Scottish Child Payment in 2026/27?
£28.20 a week for each child under 16, paid every four weeks (£112.80). It applies from 1 April 2026 under SSI 2026/170. You or your partner normally need Universal Credit or another listed benefit, and Child Benefit on its own does not qualify.
Can I get PIP or Attendance Allowance if I live in Scotland?
New claims in Scotland go to Social Security Scotland instead. GOV.UK says you apply for Adult Disability Payment instead of PIP and Pension Age Disability Payment instead of Attendance Allowance, and for a child, Child Disability Payment instead of DLA for children.
What replaced Carer's Allowance in Scotland?
Carer Support Payment, £86.45 a week in 2026/27. If you are paid it, you also get the Scottish Carer Supplement of £11.70 a week and can get £10.40 a week for each extra person you care for at least 20 hours a week. If another benefit such as the State Pension reduces your award to £0, you get neither. The few carers still on Carer's Allowance keep Carer's Allowance Supplement.
What is the earnings limit for Carer Support Payment?
In 2026/27 your take-home pay cannot be more than £204 a week, after tax, National Insurance and certain expenses. Social Security Scotland can average earnings that go up and down. The limit applies from 5 April 2026 under SSI 2026/170.
Do I get the Winter Fuel Payment in Scotland?
No. Social Security Scotland pays the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment instead, between £105.55 and £316.70 for winter 2026 to 2027, if you were born on or before 27 June 1960 and meet the other conditions. If your own total income is over £35,000, HMRC takes it back; joint income does not count.
Which benefits are still paid by DWP in Scotland?
Universal Credit, the State Pension, Pension Credit, Maternity Allowance and New Style JSA and ESA are still DWP benefits in Scotland. If you live in Scotland you can choose to have Universal Credit paid twice a month and the housing element paid straight to your landlord.