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Individuals who do not have an ongoing entitlement to the equivalent Social Security Scotland benefit
Where an individual:
- had ongoing entitlement to a DWP benefit on the dates set out below, or
- has become retroactively entitled to a DWP benefit for a period including that date
and
- they have not had their benefit award transferred or otherwise become entitled to the equivalent Scottish benefit,
- they are not a cross-border individual, and
- they make a new application within the timescales set out below
their entitlement to the equivalent Scottish benefit can begin on the day after the DWP benefit award they had ongoing entitlement to ends. The client must meet the usual eligibility rules for any past periods of entitlement. There may be breaks in entitlement during this time.
| DWP benefit | Scottish benefit | Date they must have had DWP benefit award | Timescale for making application for Scottish benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Disability Living Allowance for Children | Child Disability Payment |
Immediately before |
26 weeks (part 1) 32 weeks (part 2) |
| Personal Independence Payment | Adult Disability Payment | Immediately before 6 November 2025 |
26 weeks (part 1) 34 weeks (part 2) |
| Carer's Allowance | Carer Support Payment or from 15 March 2026 Carer Support | Immediately before 6 November 2025 |
26 weeks |
| Attendance Allowance | Pension Age Disability Payment | Immediately before 23 February 2026 | 26 weeks (part 1) 34 weeks (part 2) |
| Disability Living Allowance | Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance | Immediately before 23 February 2026 | 26 weeks (part 1) 34 weeks (part 2) |
As there is no application form for Scottish Adult DLA, a decision maker should make a determination without application and consider all the information available to them, and request further information from the individual if required, to determine if the above criteria are met.
(CDP Regs 35A(1)-(3), ADP Regs 52A(1)-(3), CSP Regs 41A(1)-(3), PADP Regs 44A (1)-(3), SADLA Regs 47A (1)-(5)).
Note that for Carer Support, entitlement should begin from the first day of the award week in which their DWP benefit entitlement ended.
If a person would have been entitled to any payment of Scottish Carer Supplement (SCS) or Carer Additional Person Payment (CAPP), had their entitlement to Carer Support began on a date between:
- 15 March 2026, and
- the date their entitlement to Carer Support begins
their first payment should be increased by the value of the Scottish Carer Supplement and Carer Additional Person Payment payments they would have been entitled to for each award week between these dates.
(CSP Regs 41A(3 – 3A)).
The timescales for making an application set out above start from the point Social Security Scotland first become aware the person’s award was not selected for transfer and it should have. This information can come from any source, including for example:
- the person themselves,
- someone who supports them, or
- the Department for Work and Pensions
If a person in this situation submits their application outwith the timescales set out above, their application can be treated as made within those timescales if they have good cause for submitting later.
(CDP Regs 35A(5), ADP Regs 52A(5), CSP Regs 41A(5), PADP Regs 44A(5), SADLA Regs 47A(6)).
Example 1
Robert lives in Scotland and receives Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Due to an error with his address on the system, his award was not selected for case transfer before 6 November 2025.
Robert calls DWP to correct his address on the 20 November 2025 and DWP end Robert’s PIP award.
Robert calls Social Security Scotland to explain that his PIP award was ‘missed’ for transfer on the same day, and completes part 1 of his application for Adult Disability Payment over the phone.
Robert submits part 2 of his application on 10 December 2025. The case manager reviewing Robert’s application decides they are entitled to Adult Disability Payment and starts the Adult Disability Payment award from 21 November 2025, which is the day after the DWP award ended.
Note that in this context 17 and 18 year olds can apply for Child Disability Payment (CDP Regs 4(2) and 35A(1)).
Example 2
Lauren lives in Scotland and her mother applied for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) on her behalf on 21 March 2020.
The DWP denied the application. Lauren’s mother never applied for Child Disability Payment.
Due to a LEAP exercise carried out by DWP, Lauren’s mother is told on 5 January 2026 that the decision to deny her DLA was incorrect, and DWP established retroactive entitlement from 21 March 2020 to 6 July 2023 (the day before DLA rules were changed so one must be present in England and Wales to receive it.)
Lauren is now 17 and her mother makes a new application for Child Disability Payment, submitting part 1 over the phone on 1 February 2026 and completing part 2 on 18 March 2026.
The case manager determines that Lauren is entitled to Child Disability Payment and begins her award from 7 July 2023.
If a client is not eligible for Carer Support on the day their entitlement would otherwise begin under these rules, entitlement can be set from a future date once they meet all of the eligibility criteria (as long as this is within 13 weeks of the application date).
This means where a client is still in receipt of Carer’s Allowance due to the DWP run-on on the day they apply, or where they are awaiting a decision on the cared for person’s qualifying disability benefit following the cared for person’s move to Scotland, we can start their award after their Carer’s Allowance ends or the disability benefit decision is made.
(CSP Regs 18(3)).
Example 3
Aisha lives in Scotland and receives Carer’s Allowance as she cares for her brother.
An error with the address on file means Aisha’s award was not selected to transfer to Carer Support Payment before 6 November 2025.
When Aisha realises her award has not been transferred, she calls Social Security Scotland on 23 June 2026 to inform us that she lives in Scotland and still gets Carer’s Allowance.
The client advisor takes Aisha’s application for Carer Support Payment over the phone and Aisha contacts DWP the same day and they end her award.
When the case manager is making a decision on Aisha’s application, they start entitlement from the first day of the award week that Carer’s Allowance entitlement ended - this would be 28 June 2026.
If Aisha’s award had been selected for transfer correctly, they could have received the Carer Support Payment and Scottish Carer Supplement components from 15 March 2026. To ensure Aisha gets the money she could have been entitled to, the case manager can provide an uplift payment to the value of the weeks Aisha would have received Scottish Carer Supplement if she had been transferred to Carer Support . This would be the period between 15 March 2026 and 28 June 2026.
Scottish Adult DLA
If an individual was under the relevant age on 23 February 2026, but has reached the relevant age at the time of determination, they can be treated as under the relevant age for purposes of the mobility and care components.
If an individual has reached the relevant age on 23 February 2026, the usual rules on mobility and care components apply for getting the mobility and care components after reaching the relevant age.
(SADLA Regs 47A(8-10)).
To identify the end of entitlement date, decision makers should use all relevant information available to them.
This is including, but not limited to:
- inSight checks
- an outcome letter from DWP for the end of the award
- verbal confirmation from the client
- evidence of living in Scotland prior to 6 November 2025
- bank statements showing payment of DWP award