Scottish Ministers have made the Social Security (Cross‑border Provision, Case Transfer and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 (SSI 2025/336). Most provisions commence on 6 November 2025, with further changes taking effect on 23 February 2026. According to the instrument published on legislation.gov.uk, the Regulations reset cross‑border and legacy conversion rules by ending automatic case transfers, introducing application routes with backdating, updating residence criteria, recognising Gibraltar coordination, and aligning suspension procedures.
Automatic case transfer provisions are revoked across Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment, Pension Age Disability Payment, Carer Support Payment and Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance. Where a notice of intention to transfer was served before the relevant commencement date, the previous transfer framework continues for that case until completion, preserving continuity for in‑flight transfers.
For people who move to Scotland from another part of the United Kingdom, entitlement can now be backdated once they apply. If the ‘required data’-full name and date of birth-is supplied within 26 weeks of the date of move and the application is made within the prescribed window, entitlement runs from when the DWP award ended. The window is 32 weeks for Child Disability Payment and 34 weeks for Adult Disability Payment and Pension Age Disability Payment, with late action permitted where Scottish Ministers accept good reason. Carer Support Payment follows a similar model. If an application is received within 26 weeks of the date of move, entitlement begins from the award week in which Carer’s Allowance ceased; for these cases an award week is four days from Wednesday where Constant Attendance Allowance is paid, otherwise six days from Monday.
Where a person should have been transferred under the previous case transfer programme but was not, new backdating routes apply. For Disability Living Allowance to Child Disability Payment, regulation 35A anchors cases to 7 July 2023; Personal Independence Payment to Adult Disability Payment is addressed by regulation 52A with a reference date of 6 November 2025; and Attendance Allowance to Pension Age Disability Payment is covered by regulation 44A with a reference date of 23 February 2026. For Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance, regulation 47A provides a request‑based route tied to 23 February 2026. Where Scottish Ministers become aware of such cases, regulations 35B, 52B, 44B and 47B require a determination without application. Entitlement is backdated to the day the UK‑administered award ended, except that Pension Age Disability Payment begins the day after Attendance Allowance ceases.
Suspension and cessation rules are aligned. Where a person disengages with requests for information and payments are suspended, and a subsequent determination finds that eligibility rules are not met, cessation takes effect from the date suspension began. The same approach is applied to Scottish Child Payment, with a savings clause preserving outcomes where decisions pre‑date 6 November 2025.
Carer Support Payment is further amended to allow an alternative start date where eligibility was not met on the original start date. The alternative date must fall within 13 weeks of the treated application date. In addition, the ‘temporary stop’ rules now include situations where the cared‑for person has moved to Scotland and their UK award has ended, or where they should have transferred but did not; qualifying disability benefits and cut‑off dates are specified in regulation 23(7A).
Residence criteria for Early Years assistance are updated. Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods now extend eligibility to people with a pending EU Settlement Scheme application and to family members within Article 9 of the EU Withdrawal Agreement, alongside those already granted EUSS status. The habitual residence requirement in the EEA or Switzerland remains and the amendments reflect the revocation of the Immigration (EEA) Regulations 2016.
International coordination is expanded to recognise the UK–Gibraltar social security arrangements. Amendments to section 81 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 and to eligibility definitions for Young Carer Grant and disability assistance bring individuals covered by the Social Security (Gibraltar) Order 2024 within the ‘relevant EU Regulation’ framework used for coordination purposes.
Age‑related restrictions are clarified for mobility components when a person over the ‘relevant age’ moves from Personal Independence Payment to Adult Disability Payment, or from Disability Living Allowance to Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance. Only the rate present in the previous award may be replicated, and only where entitlement arises from substantially the same condition or conditions; no new mobility component can be introduced where none previously existed.
Technical adjustments ensure that ‘when an application is treated as made’ provisions do not cut across the new backdating pathways. The Regulations define ‘date of move’ as the date a person becomes resident in Scotland, whether notified before or after the move, and confirm the ‘required data’ as the person’s full name and date of birth.
Operationally, determinations without application are required where Ministers become aware that a person falls within the new non‑transfer categories. For Carer Support Payment, where eligibility is not met on the first backdated award week, entitlement can start on the first award week within the next 13 weeks when criteria are satisfied, reducing gaps for carers linked to clients transitioning between systems.
For delivery partners and advice agencies, the shift from automatic transfer to an apply‑and‑backdate model places a premium on early contact after a move, prompt capture of the required data, and accurate recording of the date Ministers ‘become aware’ in legacy cases. EUSS status and Gibraltar coverage should be checked where relevant, and suspended cases monitored to ensure decisions are correctly dated to the start of suspension.