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Social Justice and Social Security Committee 19 February 2026 [Draft]

19 Feb 2026 · S6 · Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Item of business

Subordinate Legislation

Social Security (Up-rating) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 [Draft]

Somerville, Shirley-Anne SNP Dunfermline Watch on SPTV

Thank you very much, convener, and good morning. I welcome the opportunity to speak to the draft uprating regulations and order.The Scottish Government is clear about the importance of protecting the real value of social security assistance, particularly at a time when household costs remain under pressure. Uprating payments in line with inflation is essential to ensure that support continues to make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.The instruments increase all social security payments by 3.8 per cent, in line with the 12 months to September 2025 consumer prices index rate, which is a leading measure of inflation. The exception is the industrial death benefit, which will increase by 4.8 per cent, which is in alignment with the Department for Work and Pensions and reflects growth in earnings.I take the opportunity to confirm that, following its introduction during 2027-28, the new Scottish child payment premium rate for children under the age of one, which was announced as part of the Scottish budget, will be included in the regulations that we introduce annually to uprate benefits in line with inflation.In addition to increasing the payment rates, the regulations make a number of other changes, such as increasing the earnings limit from £196 to £204 for both carer support payments and carers allowance. This will ensure that carers who are in paid work can continue to access support as wages rise.Other minor changes are intended to update legislation so that it accurately reflects the policy intention or to correct drafting errors. These include amending the Carer’s Assistance (Carer Support Payment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 to clarify the effective date of the end of a carer support award when a client has died and addressing a typographical error in which the year 2026 was unintentionally omitted from a provision.The regulations also amend the Winter Heating Assistance (Pension Age) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 to clarify that each member of a couple should be treated as though they were entitled to the qualifying benefit, to ensure that the original regulations operate as intended for couples.The regulations contain saving and transitional provisions so that the previous values of assistance are still payable in certain circumstances. This includes provisions addressing an issue related to the transitional rate of adult disability in 2025-26, where it was not uprated in the legislation, although it is important to note that people were still paid the correct uprated amount.Subject to parliamentary approval, the increased rates and additional changes will come into effect from April 2026.