Draft Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Carer’s Assistance) (Consequential Modifications) Order 2026
(1 day, 8 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Kirsty McNeill)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Carer’s Assistance) (Consequential Modifications) Order 2026.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher. The draft order was laid before the House on 8 December, and I am grateful for the opportunity to debate it. As with all the Scotland Act orders we have considered since the start of this Parliament, this one is the result of collaborative working between the UK and Scottish Governments.
The order will be made under section 104 of the Scotland Act 1998 which, following an Act of the Scottish Parliament, provides the power for consequential provisions to be made in respect of the law relating to reserved matters or the laws elsewhere in the UK. Scotland Act orders are a demonstration of devolution in action, and I am pleased to say that the Scotland Office has taken through 12 orders since the Government came to power in July 2024.
The Scotland Act 2016 devolved responsibility for certain social security benefits, and employment support, to the Scottish Parliament. This included carer’s allowance, which the Scottish Government replaced with the carer support payment in 2023. This order was introduced to make provisions in consequence of further changes that the Scottish Government have made to their carer support payment. The Scottish Government requested the order, and the UK Government worked collaboratively with them on the draft, showcasing devolution in action.
The order makes amendments to the relevant UK and Northern Ireland legislation as a consequence of the Carer’s Assistance (Miscellaneous and Consequential Amendments, Revocation, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2025, which were made on 6 November 2025 and will come into force, in respect of the provisions relevant to this order, on 15 March 2026.
The Scottish Government’s regulations introduce additional support—the carer additional person payment—for those who receive carer support payment and care for more than one person; extend support for carers from eight to 12 weeks after the death of the person they care for; and introduce a new Scottish carer supplement which, for most carers, will replace the carer’s allowance supplement that is currently paid under section 81 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. The order will ensure that the Scottish Government’s changes to the carer support payment are reflected in reserved benefits.
In summary, the order makes consequential amendments to UK legislation to reflect the introduction of changes to the carer support payment in Scotland. It is an example of devolution in action, it is about the UK Government working with the Scottish Government to deliver for the people of Scotland, and it reflects the continued strong co-operation between the Scottish and UK Governments.
Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Sir Christopher.
The consequential modifications are uncontroversial in and of themselves, serving only to substitute wording across existing legislation and update previous regulations to reflect the change in the definition of carer support payments. As the Minister set out, the order amends the defined terms in social security legislation to reflect the introduction of carer support payments, as introduced in the Carer’s Assistance (Carer Support Payment) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 and the Carer’s Assistance (Miscellaneous and Consequential Amendments, Revocation, Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2025, as provided for by the Scottish Government’s Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018.
Although the order itself is technical and necessary, and we will not stand in its way, I would like to speak to the wider context of the instrument. The order follows the introduction of the 2023 regulations, an instrument of the Scottish Parliament that acted to replace the carer’s allowance in Scotland, originally administered under the Department for Work and Pensions, with a new type of benefit that served the same original purpose, administered by Social Security Scotland. The 2023 legislation epitomises the Scottish Government’s bureaucratic tendencies at the expense of Scottish taxpayers.
In the wake of the failed bid for independence in 2014, the Smith commission set out provisions for greater devolution, and the resulting powers for devolution were set out in the Scotland Act 2016. From that flawed experiment, we now know that it matters not how much is given—for the nationalists, it will never be enough. Where devolution serves simply to duplicate work that is already undertaken, more efficiently and at lower cost, by the Department for Work and Pensions, we must ask whether the Scottish equivalent represents value for money for taxpayers or is simply yet another a marketing exercise for those who wish to create more separation between us.
The division of payments for carers into a parallel system creates a new level of bureaucracy and adds complication in the system that we think is quite unnecessary. Those who are already in receipt of carer’s allowance would have to reapply for the carer support payment if they relocated to Scotland. This creates barriers within the United Kingdom, just as NHS Scotland, which is unable to share data and records with NHS England, prevents seamless care across the United Kingdom.
We do not wish to stand in the way of this statutory instrument, which seeks to make technical adjustments to existing legislation as a result of the 2023 and 2025 regulations. However, I wish to put on the record the official Opposition’s frustration with the Scottish Government’s endless duplication, waste and inefficiency, which is costing Scottish taxpayers dear.
Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Christopher.
The SI updates UK social security law to reflect changes made by the Scottish Government to carer benefits, and accounts for updates to the carer support payment, which replaces the carer’s allowance in Scotland, and two new Scottish carer payments: the carer additional person payment and the Scottish carer supplement. The extension of support for carers from eight to 12 weeks after the death of the person they care for is welcome, and the changes ensure that the Scottish benefits interact correctly with the UK-wide reserved benefits. On that basis, the Liberal Democrats are supportive.
Kirsty McNeill
I thank Members for their contributions. I not only thank the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine for his support for the technical nature of the change, but note and share his view that the Scottish Government are indeed incredibly careless with taxpayers’ money. I would go further and say, on behalf of the Labour Government, that they are addicted to wasting money. That point is noted and is a point of agreement between us. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Dunbartonshire for her party’s support for the changes.
This instrument demonstrates the UK Government’s continued commitment to work with the Scottish Government to deliver for Scotland. I commend the draft order to the House.
Question put and agreed to.